Floods displace thousands in Malaysia

Continuous heavy rain since Friday caused floods in at least five Malaysian states, with Selangor bearing the brunt in terms of evacuations, and more rain was expected over the weekend.

"A total of 3,086 victims have been evacuated so far. The highest number of victims is from Klang (2,604), and 17 evacuation centres have been opened to accommodate them," Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis was quoted as saying by The Star daily.

The fire and rescue department's assistant director-general for operations, Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad, said Selangor, Melaka, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang were among the states affected. Two deaths were reported, one in Pahang and the other in Terengganu.

"For Klang, the worst is still not over, as besides the downpour, the high tide also caused widespread flooding," Mr Nor Hisham said.

He advised the public, especially those in low-lying areas, to get their personal documents ready and to be prepared to evacuate, as the next 24 hours would be crucial.

Dozens of people in Klang had to spend the night in their cars or at their workplaces after roads became impassable.

"I finished work at the restaurant at about 12.30am, and by that time, the water had risen as high as 2m outside the restaurant," Mr Mohamad Imran Hakim Mohd Nazri, 19, who worked at a restaurant in Setia Alam, was quoted as saying.

Mr Mohamad Imran, who slept in the restaurant, described the floods as the worst he had ever experienced.

Hypermarket operator Giant shut all its stores in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening, after its outlet in Shah Alam was inundated by flood waters.

The National Hydrographic Centre posted an advisory on Twitter warning of strong winds and heavy rain over the west coast of Malaysia and the Malacca Strait due to a tropical depression.

At 5pm yesterday, the Malaysian Meteorological Department issued a red danger alert, the highest level on a three-tier scale, for very heavy continuous rain over Kuala Lumpur and parts of Selangor and Pahang.

It also issued an orange alert, the second-highest level, for continuous heavy rain in several states, including Kelantan and Selangor, until today.

The Department of Irrigation and Drainage reported that the water level of several rivers in Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan had reached danger point.

In Kelantan, at least 798 people were evacuated, and 513 were displaced in Pahang.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, in a post on Twitter, said that 17 temporary evacuation centres would be set up for flood victims and that volunteers had been mobilised to distribute aid.

Several areas in Port Klang experienced a power outage due to the torrential rain. The Port Klang Authority said the floods severely affected operations at three terminals - Northport, Westport and Southport.

Operations at warehouses and depots in the surrounding areas had also been adversely affected, while access roads were damaged, it was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

"To make matters worse, many port and logistics operations staff are unable to report for work due to travel difficulties. Hence, the movement of containers and cargo to and from the ports is expected to be severely affected and deliveries will be delayed for the next several days," it said. "Priority will be given to deliveries of essential goods, particularly food items, medical supplies and refrigerated goods," it added.