The East Coast (Pantai Timur) floods in Malaysia have shown no signs of letting up as of yet and the number of flood evacuees are on a rise. The Star reported today (28th Dec) that the number evacuees is up by more than 40,000 to over 160,000 as the floods worsened due to bad weather. As such, rescue and relief efforts intensified as Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Johor, Perlis and Selangor recorded a rise in the number of evacuees yesterday.
As at time of writing, the floods have killed 8 people, including an 18-month-old child, two cousins and a husband and wife. Kelantan was the worst-hit state, with the number of victims displaced nearly doubling to 81,925 from 45,467 on Friday (26th Dec). They are part of 160,921 victims nationwide seeking shelter as at 3pm yesterday, up from 120,341 on Friday (26th Dec).
An aerial view of Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan on Saturday, 27th Dec (Source: The Star)
To make matters worse, Negri Sembilan became the eighth state to be affected by the floods that have ravaged the country over the last 10 days. The Star reports that more than 300 people in the state were hit by the floods Saturday (27th Dec) morning, raising the total number evacuees nationwide.
The situation in flood-hit Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and Perak has reportedly worsened while the situation has improved slightly in Perlis and Kedah. In Kelantan, the floods have sent 55,960 people to relief centres, up from the 45,467 last night. The rain eased off in Kota Baru in the morning but the sky remained overcast.
Just to give you an idea of how devastating the floods are:
* Pictures from The Star.
On top of that, there is no sign yet that the situation will improve, with the Meteorological Department issuing an alert to warn of the possibility of monsoon rains occurring from tomorrow to Wednesday (31st Dec).
In case you missed it, here:
Food items and relief supplies have begun arriving by air to Kelantan at the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, including donations by ordinary Malaysians and non-governmental organisations.
If you too would like to extend whatever help you can (be it via donations or offering to volunteer), here are 11 ways to do so. The flood victims will be needing the most basic of daily supplies such as:
- Clean/fresh water
- Food (Canned and dry)
- Toilet paper
- Gas cookers
- Milk formula
- Mats/Blankets
- Sanitary pads
- Blankets
- Diapers
- Clothes
More so now than ever, it’s time for us to put our differences aside and come together as Malaysians to help them out. Remember, all efforts, however big or small, counts.
Sources: The Star (1), The Star (2), Malaysian Meteorological Department’s Facebook page.