Massive floods brought on by unrelenting rains have displaced over 122,000 people from their homes in Malaysia’s northern states, according to disaster officials on Saturday.
The amount exceeded the 118,000 people who were displaced during one of the biggest floods in the nation in 2014, and because the intense rains continued, disaster officials were concerned that the number would increase even more.
There were still four confirmed deaths in Sarawak, Terengganu, and Kelantan.
According to data from the National Disaster Management Agency, Kelantan state was the most affected by the flooding, with 63 percent of the 122,631 displaced persons living there.
Nearly 35,000 people were evacuated from Terengganu, while the remaining persons were said to have been displaced from seven other states.
People were observed walking through streets that were hip-deep in water as the heavy rains that started early this week continued to batter Pasir Puteh town in Kelantan.
“My area has been flooded since Wednesday. The water has already reached my house corridor and is just two inches away from coming inside,” Pasir Puteh resident and school janitor Zamrah Majid, 59, told AFP.
“Luckily, I moved my two cars to a higher ground before the water level rose.”
She said she allowed her grandchildren to play in the water in front of his house because it was still shallow.
“But if the water gets higher, it would be dangerous, I’m afraid they might get swept away,” she added.
“I haven’t received any assistance yet, whether it’s welfare or other kinds of help.”
Muhammad Zulkarnain, 27, who is living with his parents in Pasir Puteh, said they were isolated.
“There’s no way in or out of for any vehicles to enter my neighbourhood,” he told AFP.
“Of course I’m scared… Luckily we have received some assistance from NGOs, they gave us food supplies like biscuits, instant noodles, and eggs.”
The 34 million-person Southeast Asian country experiences flooding every year as a result of the northeast monsoon, which produces intense rains from November to March.
The National Disaster Management Committee’s chair, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, stated that thousands of emergency services workers, rescue boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and helicopters have been sent to flood-prone states.
