Floods in Malaysia kill 5, displace 56,159

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 20 (IANS) Severe floods in parts of Malaysia has resulted in the deaths of five people and displacement of 56,159 people across five states, government data revealed on Tuesday.

The worst-hit areas are along the east coast of the peninsula, with 17,326 flood victims from Kelantan state and 37,792 from Terengganu evacuated to flood relief centres, Xinhua news agency reported.

The victims included a 15-month-old boy, according to authorities.

River water in several areas in the affected states had exceeded the danger level.

The Fire and Rescue Department’s fire safety division director Ahmad Izram Osman said his team was conducting aerial monitoring to get an accurate account of the flood situation in Terengganu and would do similar monitoring in Kelantan.

Other affected states are Pahang, Johor and Perak, with several hundreds being evacuated.

–IANS

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