KUANTAN: Temerloh, the only district in Pahang currently affected by floods, has seen an increase in evacuees, rising from 193 earlier today to 1,247 as of 9pm.
The evacuees from 360 families were seeking shelter at five flood relief centres in the district.
The Civil Defence Force, in a statement, said the SK Desa Bakti relief centre which was activated at noon has 566 victims from 163 families while SMK Seri Semantan hall is housing 595 evacuees from 174 families.
The relief centre at SK Lanchang has 36 victims, Mempateh Hall has 30, and Kampung Bongsu Mosque has 20.
Meanwhile, Pahang Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Dr Wan Mohammad Zaidi Wan Isa said the floods in Temerloh were triggered after Sungai Semantan which flows into Sungai Pahang burst its banks and overflowed into the low lying areas including Mentakab.
"Heavy rain over the weekend had resulted in flash floods in Karak and Lanchang but today the flood water in Karak has receded.
"Now, the water is moving towards Mentakab and the low-lying areas in the vicinity.....the water from Sungai Semantan flows into Sungai Pahang but currently Sungai Pahang has not breached the danger level yet.
"Heavy rain was reported in the central part of Pahang between Janda Baik and Temerloh. Water from upstream is flowing towards downstream causing the low areas to be inundated," he told reporters after closing a disaster management exercise at Petronas Chemicals MTBE Sdn Bhd in Gebeng near here today.