Floods in Malaysia displace over 29,000 people

KUALA LUMPUR: Over 29,000 people were evacuated throughout Malaysia Sunday as the country faces some of its worst flooding in years.

The tropical Southeast Asian nation often sees stormy monsoon seasons at the end of the year, with seasonal flooding regularly causing mass evacuations.

Heavy downpours since Friday have caused rivers to overflow, submerging many urban areas and cutting off major roads, stranding thousands of motorists.

More than 29,000 flood victims in eight states and territories were recorded on an official government website, with over 13,000 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 Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressing surprise at the strong 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 Sunday press conference.

The premier also promised swift aid to flood victims as well as an initial allocation of 100 million ringgit ($23.7million) to repair damaged houses and infrastructure.

While rainy weather has slowed nationwide, a government website showed water exceeding dangerous levels in six central and northeastern states Sunday afternoon.

Dozens of bus routes in and around the Malaysian capital have been cancelled and train services leading to the port city of Klang were suspended.

Operations at three water treatment plants in Selangor were also disrupted by the floods, with taps expected to run dry for tens of thousands in parts of the state and the capital.

Malaysia’s worst flooding in decades took place in 2014, forcing some 118,000 people to flee.

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