Devastating Flood Invades Malaysia since Decades

14 people were killed and thousands were swept away due to the devastating flood in Malaysia since decades.

Heavy rains, which lasted for three days during the weekend, caused huge floods in 8 states; which led some cities and villages to partially sink in the water.

The government has faced outrage from the public due to their delayed reaction towards the disaster.

It was reported that there are many missing people and fears are rising from increasing the death toll sharply.

Authorities displaced about 51.000 from their homes. Most of them were from Pahang; located in Malaysia’s eastern coast, which was the most damaged state.

Selangor, the over-populated state and in which Kuala Lumpur is located, is also severely damaged.

Pictures circulated by Internet users, showed areas in the center of Kuala Lumpur, sinking in the water during the weekend. The water reached a level that Malaysia has not witnessed since 1971.

On Monday, heavy rains receded so far and some people got back to their damaged houses during the receding flood.

“We left our house with only important documents such as our children’s birth certificates. That is what we got from the house,” one of the victims said.

The Malaysian government has faced public outrage due to its handling of the flood. Some doubted that the authorities did not pay attention as they should in warning people beforehand and the rescue efforts were too slow.

A rescue worker told “South China Morning Post” newspaper; “what makes me angry is that the response was too slow. The Civil Defense Force did not come until this morning, after three days (the flood got worse). They care about their boats and leave people to die in this region.”

The two Malaysian biggest political parties held an annual meeting despite of the rise of the flood level in Selangor.

The opposition deputy Charles Santiago, from Klang, one of the most hit regions, described the federal government’s response “weak and not enough.”

Some accounts from other social media platforms showed Malaysians gathered in to give a hand in rescue operations. Some bought boats and life jackets, others offer the displaced for lodging in their houses.

Adeeb Harith, a Malaysian citizen told a local media; “the people who work with me, are the ones I knew through Twitter. They have a good intention for helping others.” Harith bought rescue equipment and boats to help the trapped ones in their houses.

He added; “We succeeded together in transferring about 200 people who were trapped due to the flood.”

Some regions in Malaysia are prone to floods, especially in monsoon in period from November to February.

Contributed by Israa Farhan