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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Malaysia: Floods Ease in Johor

by , FloodList, December 9, 2013

The Malaysian state of Terengganu has apparently seen a second wave of flooding over the last 24 hours. However, there is better news for Kelantan and Johor states, where the rainfall has stopped and flood waters receded. Some of the evacuees have returned home.
The rainfall that fell between 2 and 5 December in the Kemaman area Terengganu was described by Kemaman Drainage and Irrigation as worse than the rainfall of 1971 and 2012. Over 1000mm of rainfall was recorded in Padang Kubu (1,029mm ) and Jabor (1,161mm) over that period. The average yearly rainfall for Terengganu state is between 3,000mm and 3,500mm.
As of yesterday, 8 December, there were 65,956 people displaced by the floods across much of eastern Malaysia, staying in 217 relief centres that were set up by the authorities. It is thought that with the improvements of the situations in Kelantan and Johor, that number may now have fallen. The figure for Johor is now thought to have fallen from 1,024 to 602 still in the relief centres.
The largest number of displaced (40,819) are in Pahang, where the situation remains as it was last week, with many areas still inundated, despite a drop in rainfall. The worst affected part of Pahang is Kuantan where there are still 34,426 people displaced. Kuantan saw 900mm of rain fall between 1 and 3 December, more than three times the amount of rain for the whole of December 2012.
floods dungun malaysia
Floods in Dungun, Malaysia, December 2013. Photo: witter.com/InfoBanjir2013
The relief operations in Pahang have come under some criticism after it was understood that some relief centres had run out of food for the evacuees. Pahang Disaster Relief Committee chairman Datuk Seri Muhammad Safian Ismail said the sudden rise in the number of evacuees meant existing food supplies soon ran low. Flooded or blocked roads then meant further supplies were delayed.

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