Floods hit Malaysia hard, tens of thousands displaced

Floods are hitting Malaysia hard leaving tens of thousands of people displaced. As of last night, 45,000 victims had been evacuated to relief centres in five states in Malaysia’s peninsula.

The state of Terengganu was hit the hardest, with 29,717 victims from 8,214 families evacuated. The district most impacted in Terengganu was Kemaman, with 8,375 victims from 2,109 families evacuated.

There are currently 273 relief centres operating in all eight districts of Terengganu, Asia News Network reported.

The state of Kelantan saw 14,359 victims from 3,942 families evacuated. A total of 104 relief centres were opened in nine districts of the state.

The state of Pahang saw 865 victims from 218 families evacuated. A total of eight relief centres were opened in the state’s capital city of Kuantan, while three relief centres operated in Raub.

In the state of Johor, the number of victims in the Segamat district was 53 last night. The victims were brought to the Kampung Batu Badak Community Hall, Kuala Paya Community Hall and Kampung Tasek Community Hall.

In the state of Perak, 54 people from 17 families were staying in two relief centres.

This news comes after ten people were reported to have died in a landslide at a camping site in Malaysia’s Selangor state last week. Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency reported it had rescued 53 people but dozens remain missing. It is understood that more than 90 people were camped at a farm site on the side of a road.

Like many Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia suffers devastating floods. In January this year, at least 125,490 people were affected by floods.

The east coast of Malaysia often experiences flooding during the monsoon season which runs from October to March. However, unprecedented heavy rainfall in December last year meant thousands had to be evacuated to safety, stretching the emergency services to breaking point.

As Malaysia is plundered by floods once again, tens of thousands of victims continue to suffer.