More than 30,000 people were yesterday evacuated from their homes in Malaysia, as the country battled some of its worst flooding in years.
The tropical Southeast Asian nation often sees stormy monsoon conditions toward the end of the year, with flooding regularly prompting mass evacuations.
Downpours since Friday have caused rivers to overflow, submerging many urban areas and cutting off major roads, leaving thousands of motorists stranded.
Photo: EPA-EFE
More than 30,000 flood victims across eight states and territories were recorded on an official government Web site, with more than 14,000 of them in the central state of Pahang.
Nearly 10,000 people fled their homes in the country’s richest state of Selangor, which surrounds the capital, Kuala Lumpur, with Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday expressing surprise at the severe flooding there.
“The amount of rain that fell in Selangor yesterday, what fell in one day would usually fall in one month,” he told a news conference.
Rohkidah Yusof, 60, was delivering food to a customer, but found herself trapped with her two children and two grandchildren in a neighboring suburb, after rising waters made it impossible for the family to drive home on Saturday.
They were rescued by boat by a group of volunteers, who took them to safety more than 24 hours later.
Rohkidah, who has lived in Shah Alam city in Selangor for more than 30 years, said the floods were the worst she had ever seen.
“I’ve never experienced floods this bad. I want to go home, but I’m not sure how we are going to get there,” she said.
The prime minister promised swift aid for the flood victims and initial funding of 100 million ringgit (US$23.7 million) to repair damaged houses and infrastructure.
A government Web site showed water exceeding dangerous levels in six central and northeastern states yesterday afternoon.
As floodwaters receded from the capital, business owners went back to their shops to clean up the damage left by the downpours.
Lee Joon Kee, the owner of a tourist information center and souvenir shop, said he had only reopened a few days ago after closing for nearly two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s very sad, but we have no choice. The only choice [we have is] to move on and clean out the mess, then we will continue our new chapter,” he said.
Dozens of bus routes in and around the capital have been suspended along with train services to the port city of Klang.
Operations at three water treatment plants in Selangor were also disrupted, with taps expected to run dry for tens of thousands of people in parts of the state, as well as the capital.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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