More than 21,000 people have been displaced from their homes due to flooding caused by torrential rains in Malaysia.
Perak was the latest state to be hit by floods, with flooding worsening in six other states.
“Altogether, more than 21,000 people had been evacuated from their flooded homes to relief centres by noon,” state news agency Bernama reported on Sunday.
More than 11,000 people were driven from their homes on Saturday, as heavy rainfall that started on Friday morning caused dozens of road closures and disrupted shipping.
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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told a media conference in Selangor, Malaysia’s wealthiest and most populous region surrounding the capital Kuala Lumpur, that 15,000 people there had been evacuated to more than 100 relief centres.
He said the rainfall over the past day was equivalent to the total rainfall for a month in normal conditions.
Rescue efforts were still under way for those trapped in vehicles and outside of their homes, while reports from Saturday of those trapped at home had been resolved, he said.
More than 66,000 personnel from the police, army and fire department have been mobilised to help rescue people stranded by flood waters and take them to shelters late on Saturday.
The Meteorological Department warned of dangerous level of continuous torrential rain in Perak, but has downgraded Selangor from danger level to alert.
-Reuters
