Disasters & Accidents

At least five children killed, thousands displaced in Malaysia floods

Bangkok Desk, Dec 21 (EFE).- At least five people have died in Malaysia and another 70,000 have been displaced by monsoon rains that triggered heavy flooding in the northeast of the country, state media said Wednesday.

According to the state-run Bernama news agency, three of the victims were sisters who were electrocuted while trying to avoid being swept away by the floodwaters outside their home in the state of Kelantan.

Local media reported that an infant also drowned in that state.

The fifth victim is a two-year-old girl who died on Sunday after she was swept away by the floods in the neighboring state of Terengganu.

Wan Azizah, the wife of Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri, visited the family who lost the three daughters, and said the flood victims would be eligible for compensation.

“We hope such an incident would not recur,” she said.

Bernama said more than 31,000 people have had to flee their homes in Kelantan state and more than 39,000 have been taken to evacuation centers in Terengganu after floods hit the area since last weekend.

Dozens of people are killed and thousands displaced every year in Malaysia by landslides and floods caused by monsoon rains during the rainy season between November and March.

At least 26 people were killed by a landslide that swept through a campsite some 40 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur on December 16, authorities said Wednesday after recovering two more bodies from the affected area overnight. EFE

bkk-esj/ks/jt

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