Clean-up begins in Malaysia towns hit by six months of rain in five days

TUMPAT, Kelantan: Residents in the Malaysian town of Tumpat were returning to submerged homes and shops as deadly floodwaters began to ease after being inundated by more than a metre of rain in a matter of days, but there were forecasts of more rain to come.

Peninsular Malaysia, particularly its northeastern coast, and southern Thailand have been battered by torrential rains which fuelled floods that killed dozens of people, and damaged homes, transport links, and thousands of acres of rice crops.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the rains were far beyond expectations, with some east coast areas getting more than six months’ worth of rainfall between Nov 26 and Nov 30.

Tumpat and Tanah Merah, towns in Kelantan state close to the Thai border, had about 1,167mm of rain, while Besut town in Terengganu state received 1,761 mm, Anwar told parliament.

“That’s a very high record of rainfall … it’s far beyond expectations,” he said.

Some Tumpat residents have begun returning to submerged homes and shops as floodwaters receded, though authorities remain on guard for a second wave of floods this week.

Many residents found their homes had collapsed, with parts of walls, roofs and broken furniture lying scattered in pools of water.

Muhamad Alim, a 56-year-old shopkeeper whose food store was inundated, recalled fast-rising waters in his home and his grandchildren crying as the flood surged on Saturday night.

“Electricity was cut off, and there was no water supply. So, we were stuck, sitting there as if we were in the middle of the sea, surrounded by water,” he said.

“You could hear the sound of water rushing cutting through the silence of the night.”

Six people have died in Malaysia and more than 150,000 were evacuated during the height of the floods, government data showed, though the number of people in temporary shelters has since fallen to around 85,000 on Tuesday.

In Thailand, the death toll is 25, and more than 300,000 households were still affected, the interior ministry said. The government said it would offer support payments of 9,000 baht (US$262) for each affected household.

Malaysia’s Meteorological Department said it expects thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds in nine states and two federal territories on Tuesday. It had earlier warned of a monsoon surge to begin on Dec 8.

In Thailand, the Meteorological Department warned people in the south of the country to beware of heavy to very heavy rains and possible flash flooding and overflows from Dec 3 to Dec 5.