Floods in Malaysia displace more than 30,000 people
In light of the monsoon season and heavy rains, Malaysians are forced to flee their homes due to one of the worst floods the country has experienced in years.
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Floods in Malaysia displaced more than 30,000 people.
On Sunday, more than 30,000 people in Malaysia were evacuated from their homes as the country battles some of the worst floodings it has seen in years.
Toward the end of the year, the tropical Southeast Asian nation has rainy monsoon seasons, which frequently result in widespread evacuations due to flooding.
Rains have caused rivers to overflow since Friday, drowning numerous metropolitan areas and blocking off main routes, stranding thousands of motorists.
Floods force residents to flee
An official government website reported more than 30,000 flood casualties from eight states and territories, with over 14,000 of them in Pahang, Malaysia's central state.
Nearly 10,000 people were forced to flee their houses in Selangor, Malaysia's richest state, which surrounds the capital Kuala Lumpur, with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressing surprise at the catastrophic floods.
"The amount of rain that fell in Selangor yesterday, what fell in one day would usually fall in one month," he said in a press conference on Sunday.
Aid for the country
The Prime Minister promised immediate assistance to flood victims, as well as an initial investment of 100 million ringgit ($23.7 million) to restore damaged homes and infrastructure.
On Sunday afternoon, water levels in six central and northeastern states exceeded unsafe levels, according to a government website.
As the floodwaters receded from the capital, shop owners returned to their establishments to repair the damage caused by the downpours.
Effects of the flood
The owner of a tourist information center and souvenir shop, Lee Joon Kee, said he had only recently reopened after being closed for nearly two years due to coronavirus 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."
Hundreds of bus lines in and around the capital, as well as train services to the port city of Klang, have been halted.
Three water treatment plants in Selangor were also shut down, leaving tens of thousands of people without water in sections of the state as well as the capital.
In 2014, Malaysia saw its worst flooding in decades, causing 118,000 people to abandon their homes.
