At least 7 killed, 34,000 displaced in Malaysia floods
Bangkok, Dec 20 (EFE).- At least 7 people have been killed and over 34,000 displaced due to floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in several states of Malaysia, authorities said on Monday.
The director of the fire and rescue services in the Selangor province, Norazam Khamis, said that one death was reported on Saturday, while the rest were registered on Sunday, including a woman who had been trapped under her house, state news agency Bernama reported.
More than 34,000 people have had to be evacuated and housed in temporary shelters in the affected areas, spread across the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak and capital Kuala Lumpur.
Heavy rains lashing the country since Friday have been described as the worst in a century.
Environment ministry secretary Zaini Ujang said that the rain recorded since Friday had overtaken the average rainfall for the entire month and such an occurrence took place once in 100 years.
Several highways have been cut off and thousands of people remain trapped in their houses and vehicles due to flooding.
Heavy rains and flooding have also affected some terminals of Malaysia’s most important sea port of Klang, local media outlets reported.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced aid worth $23 million for repairing houses and other infrastructure damaged by the floods.
More than 66,000 police officers, soldiers and firefighters have been deployed in emergency and rescue operations, mainly to evacuate people trapped by rising waters, which have led to at least 15,000 people being displaced just in Selangor.
Malaysia has two rainy seasons: one caused by the southwest monsoon (May-September) and the other by the northeast monsoon (October-March), which is more serious and generally affects the eastern part of the Malay peninsula and Borneo. EFE
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