People wade through a flooded residential area at Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia March 4, 2023.

KUALA LUMPUR — Three people have died and more than 80,000 have been evacuated from floods across several Malaysian states, the government said on Nov 29 as officials warned the monsoon season could bring the country’s worst flooding in a decade. 

Floods are common on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia during the monsoon period between October and March, but this week’s torrential rain has led to mass evacuations, mostly in the north-eastern state of Kelantan that borders Thailand. 

The National Disaster Command Centre’s website said as at the morning of Nov 29, three people had died and 80,589 people had been evacuated to 467 temporary shelters in seven states, with Kelantan and neighbouring Terengganu the worst hit. It did not provide further details on the deaths.    

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, said on Nov 28 that the floods were expected to be more severe than in 2014, when nearly a quarter of a million people were forced from their homes. 

“Given the severity of the situation, all parties have been mobilised to ensure the safety and welfare of flood victims,” he was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

The government has deployed more than 82,000 security personnel as well as rescue boats, four-wheel drive vehicles and helicopters, he added. 

National railway operator KTM said in a Facebook post that it had suspended nine train routes on the east coast due to floods. 

On Nov 27, the Malaysian Meteorological Department warned that heavy rain across several states was expected to last until Nov 29. Last week, it said a monsoon surge was expected to bring heavy and prolonged rain on the peninsula’s east until Dec 1.

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