Death toll from Malaysia’s worst flooding in century rises to 37

The worst flooding in a century has killed at least 37 people, inundated large
parts of Malaysia, and displaced 68,000 people from their home, officials said
Thursday.

The authorities have sheltered the displaced in evacuation centers, official
Bernama news agency said.

Heavy rains that hit seven regions, including the capital Kuala Lumpur, last
Friday and Saturday triggered the worst in the last 100 years floods amid
fears that the calamity will recur in the future due to climate change.

Most of the deaths have occurred in Selangor and Pahang in the south of
Malaysia.

The water level has since declined, giving rescuers better access to the
worst-affected areas and recovering the bodies.

However, the water level in 23 areas, many of them close to river beds,
remains “alarmingly high,” Police Inspector General Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani
said on Thursday.

The police officer said rivers were overflowing with floodwater, and “there
could be a possibility of more floods in the coming days.”

Environment Professor Haliza Abdul Rahman of the University Putra Malaysia has
said climate change was a major factor in the heavy rains that caused the
flooding.

“Floods have been classified as an event that occurs every 100 years, but
perhaps many incidents like this will occur again in the coming years,” Haliza
told Channel News Asia.

With information from
laprensalatina.com