Malaysia, Philippines struggle with rescue, relief efforts

Malaysia and the Philippines yesterday continued to struggle with the aftermath of heavy rain and storms, as efforts to rescue and assist thousands of victims were hampered by damaged infrastructure, even as the death toll mounted.

Three days after torrential rain caused severe flooding in eight Malaysian states, at least eight people have died and more than 61,000 have been displaced, while some victims were still stranded yesterday with no food or electricity.

Meanwhile, those who were safely evacuated to temporary shelters in the affected states risk being infected by Covid-19, after at least 181 cases were detected among the evacuees.

"The Health Ministry expects that due to this flood disaster, there may be an increase in cases," Malaysia's Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was quoted by The Star daily as saying.

This was because evacuation had to be done in a very high-risk situation where some public health measures could not be fully implemented, he said.

The armed forces, police and other agencies scrambled to save those who were still trapped in their homes yesterday.

Ten people, including a child, are feared missing in Pahang state.

In the Philippines, the scale of the devastation wrought by last Thursday's powerful typhoon has come into sharper focus.

"We are still assessing the damage, but it is huge as per initial report: entire communities levelled to the ground, no electricity, water and food," Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana, who heads the national disaster-relief agency, told reporters yesterday.

At least 375 have died, according to police reports. That toll could still rise as dozens remain missing. Most of those who died - close to 100 - were in Bohol, an island province that is a popular tourist spot.

Large swathes of central Philippines were battered, leaving hundreds of thousands without homes, and millions without electricity and mobile signals, surviving only on limited food and water.

The Coast Guard reported yesterday that it evacuated at least 29 tourists on the popular island resort of Siargao, including a Singaporean. All are now safe, it said.

Typhoon Rai, known as Odette in the Philippines, tore through the country last Thursday with gusts of up to 290kmh. It was the 15th typhoon to hit the country this year.

Bohol, which is more than five times the size of Singapore with a population of some 1.3 million, is one of the hardest hit. It had suffered a "great and all-encompassing" loss, said provincial Governor Arthur Yap.

In Malaysia, the blame game got under way even as volunteer groups and members of the public pitched in to help.

Critics said no warning was given by the authorities and that rescue efforts were too slow, with the hashtag #KerajaanPembunuh (Killer Government) trending on Twitter.

"Many people died because of you and your people's negligence. If y'all really took emergency action before and had warned the people, this wouldn't have happened," Twitter user NJJM wrote.

More than 30 boats were used to rescue flood victims in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, one of the worst-affected areas.

Klang MP Charles Santiago said many families were trapped on the roof of their homes. The government's "excuse that the water level is too high and preventing rescue work and food distribution is unacceptable. The government has so many assets such as boats, helicopters and professionally trained teams", he said.