Over 122,000 individuals have been compelled to leave their homes as extensive floods, triggered by unrelenting rains, inundated Malaysia's northern regions, according to disaster management authorities on Saturday. This figure surpasses the 118,000 evacuees during one of the nation's most severe flood events in 2014, and officials anticipate the number could escalate further due to continuous heavy downpours. The death toll stands at four across Kelantan, Terengganu, and Sarawak. Kelantan state has borne the majority of the flooding, accounting for 63% of the 122,631 evacuees, as per data from the National Disaster Management Agency. Nearly 35,000 people were evacuated in Terengganu, with the remaining displacements reported from seven other states. Intense rains, which commenced earlier this week, have relentlessly pounded Pasir Puteh town in Kelantan, where residents are navigating through streets submerged in hip-deep waters.
Pasir Puteh resident and school janitor Zamrah Majid, 59, shared with AFP, "My area has been flooded since Wednesday. The water has already reached my house corridor and is just two inches away from coming inside." Fortunately, she relocated her two cars to higher ground before the water level surged. She allowed her grandchildren to play in the shallow water in front of her house but expressed concern, "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, living with his parents in Pasir Puteh, described their isolation, "There's no way in or out for any vehicles to enter my neighbourhood." He noted, "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 Malaysian Meteorological Department cautioned that heavy rains will persist until Sunday in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perak. Flooding is an annual occurrence in the Southeast Asian nation of 34 million people due to the northeast monsoon, which brings heavy rain from November to March. Thousands of emergency services personnel have been deployed in flood-prone states alongside rescue boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and helicopters, according to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who chairs the National Disaster Management Committee.
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