Asia-Pacific

Number of Malaysians displaced by floods reaches 160,000

Floods force thousands to evacuate eight affected states after severe monsoon rains

An aerial view of flooded streets of the National Park in Kuala Tahan, Pahang. Northern states of Malaysia have been hit by the Southeast Asian nation’s worst floods in decades. Photograph: Nazirul Roselan/Reuters

Sat Dec 27 2014 - 11:37

The number of people evacuated due to Malaysia's worst-ever floods jumped to more than 160,000 on Saturday, as prime minister Najib Razak visted one of the worst-hit states after cutting short a vacation in the US.

Mr Najib arrived in Kelantan, which has the biggest problems among eight affected states, following his return from Hawaii on Friday after public criticism that he had been absent as flooding worsened.

On Saturday, Mr Najib announced an additional 500 million ringgit ($143.31 million) will be spent to aid victims after the flood subsides, following an initial government allocation of 50 million ringgit two days ago.

The number of people evacuated topped 160,000 at 7am (GMT) Saturday, according to the New Straits Times newspaper, a sharp increase from 100,000 a day before.

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The prime minister attended briefings with the National Security Council, the National Disaster Management and Relief Committee, state government and local emergency responders, a statement on Friday said.

Northeastern peninsular Malaysia, which is the worst affected part of the country by this round of flooding, is regularly hit by floods during the annual northeast monsoon but this year's rains have been particularly heavy.

Reuters

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