KUALA TERENGGANU: While the flood was affecting thousands of Terengganu folk in various districts, residents of Seberang Takir, here were busy gathering thousands of cockles that were washed out on the beach in the area.
Hundreds of residents gathered to collect the cockles that emerged along the Seberang Takir beach, near here since yesterday evening.
A villager Mohamad Fariz Abdullah, 25, said news of the cockles washing up on the beach was spread through the internet resulting people rushing out to collect them.
Fatin Nadia Zulkarnain, 23, a University Malaysia Terengganu student said she came to the beach with friends and saw that many people were collecting the shelfish.
This is the second incident of cockles being washed up on shore in Terengganu in recent times.
Last month, thousands of cockles were found by villagers along the Rusila beach and Sura Hujung beach in Dungun.
It could not be ascertained whether the washed up cockles have anything to do with the current flood or monsoon season.
Meanwhile, there was a drop in the number of flood victims throughout Terengganu when State Welfare Department showed 7,561 victims from 2,110 families still at 103 relief centres this evening.
Earlier in the morning today, the state welfare department portal stated that 8,709 victims of 2,535 families were at 123 relief centres.
As of 5pm, Besut recorded the highest number of evacuees with 3,011 people from 906 families were seeking shelter at 44 relief centres, followed by Dungun with 2, 263 people from 598 families were at 26 relief centres.
In Kemaman, there are 1,546 people from 404 families at 13 relief centres while in Hulu Terengganu, 429 victims from 123 families were housed in 10 relief centres.
The portal said that in Setiu, 154 people of 39 families were moved to six relief centres while in Kuala Terengganu, 118 people of 28 families evacuated to three relief centres. Marang recorded 40 people of 12 families were at a sole relief centre.-nst online
