Flooding Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding
Diplomat Times (Johor Baru)- Non-stop rain has caused flooding in five Malaysian states, with the southern state of Johor the worst hit.
Over 31,000 people have been moved to 232 temporary relief centres nationwide as the weather agency predicted continuous heavy downpours until Saturday.
All 10 districts in Johor have been hit by flooding, with more than 29,000 victims from over 7,800 families seeking shelter at 193 temporary flood relief centers as at 4pm on Thursday.
Johor state secretary Azmi Rohani said this was one of the worst floods to have inundated the state in the past few years, attributing it to continuous heavy rain and the high-tide phenomenon.
According to floodlist.com, the district of Segamat was the worst hit, followed by Kluang, Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi districts.
The small town of Chaah, in Segamat, was entirely submerged in water. Residents say this was the worst flood in 20 years, and many people were trapped in their homes amid rising waters for up to 12 hours before being rescued.
Over 40 evacuation centres were set up in the districts of Johor Bahru, Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Kulai, Pontian and Segamat late on 28 February. Malaysia’s disaster management agency said over 5,000 people from 1,542 households had moved to the centres as of 01 March.
Heavy rain began on 28 February. According to figures from the Ministry Of Natural Resources, Environment And Climate Change, the Air Panas weather station in the Segamat district recorded 627 mm of rain from 28 to late 01 March.
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— Berita Harian (@bharianmy) March 5, 2023
More than 200 mm of rain was recorded in 29 locations of Johor state in 19 hours on 01 March. During this period the weather station at Felda Pemanis in the Segamat district recorded 417 mm of rain and Kampung Liang Batu in the Muar district recorded 395 mm. Paloh in Kluang district recorded 298 mm of rain.
Rivers were above the danger mark in at least 16 locations by late (local time) 01 March, including the Skudai River at Kampung Laut in Johor Bahru, which jumped to 5.49 meters on 01 March, well above the danger mark of 3 meters.
Heavy rain was reported in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia, in particular in Pahang where 72mm of rain fell in 1 hour and 431 mm in 19 hours in Pukin in the Rompin district.
Sarawak and Sabah States
Authorities reported evacuations after flooding in Kuching, Sarawak, on 28 February 2023. As of 01 March over 150 people were in evacuation centres.
Flooding also affected the Kota Marudu and Sandakan districts of Sabah State. As of 01 March, a total of 485 people were evacuated.
