KUALA LUMPUR: More than 122,000 people have been forced out of their homes as massive floods caused by relentless rains swept through Malaysia’s northern states, disaster management officials said on Saturday.
The number surpassed the 118,000 evacuated during one of the country’s worst flooding in 2014, and disaster officials feared it could rise further as there was no let-up in torrential downpours.
The death toll remained at four recorded across Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak. Kelantan state bore the brunt of the flooding, accounting for 63 per cent of the 122,631 people evacuated, according to data from the National Disaster Management Agency.
Nearly 35,000 people were evacuated in Terengganu, with the rest of the displacements reported from seven other states.
Heavy rains, which began early this week, continued to hammer Pasir Puteh town in Kelantan, where people could be seen walking through streets inundated with hip-deep waters.
PM Shehbaz offers assistance in relief operation
“My area has been flooded since Wednesday. The water has already reached my house corridor and is just two inches away from coming inside,” Pasir Puteh resident and school janitor Zamrah Majid, 59, told AFP.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department warned that heavy rains will continue until Sunday in Kelantan, Terengganu and Perak.
Floods are an annual phenomenon in the Southeast Asian nation of 34 million people due to the northeast monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.
Thousands of emergency services personnel have been deployed in flood-prone states along with rescue boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and helicopters, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who chairs the National Disaster Management Committee.
Shehbaz-Ibrahim conversation
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deepest sympathies on behalf of the Pakistani people for the brotherly people of Malaysia over the loss of lives and property caused by recent floods due to torrential rains in several states of the country.
The prime minister in his telephonic conversation with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim assured that the people of Pakistan stood in solidarity with their Malaysian brothers and sisters during this challenging time.
He appreciated the swift and effective measures taken by the Malaysian government to address this natural calamity.
The prime minister offered all possible assistance to Malaysia and announced the immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid as a gesture of Pakistan’s support for Malaysia.
Nine killed in Thailand
Flooding driven by heavy rains in southern Thailand has killed nine people and displaced more than 13,000, officials said on Saturday, as rescue teams using boats and jet skis worked to reach stranded residents.
Local media footage showed residents wading through murky, chest-deep water and cars submerged in flooded streets.
“Flooding across eight provinces in southern Thailand has affected 553,921 households and claimed nine lives, prompting agencies to mobilise urgent assistance,” the country’s disaster agency said on its official Facebook page.
More than 13,000 people had been forced to flee their homes, with temporary shelters set up in schools and temples, it added.
Nampa, a resident of coastal Songkhla province, told state broadcaster Thai PBS she was concerned about the dwindling food supplies.
“We are doing fine now, but I am not sure how long can we stay in this condition,” she said.
Two hospitals in nearby Pattani province suspended operations to prevent floodwaters from damaging medical facilities.
Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024
