Flood death toll in Malaysia rises to 46

KUALA LUMPUR: The death toll in Malaysia’s worst floods in years rose to 46 on Saturday, with five people still missing, officials said as workers continued a massive clean-up on Christmas Day.
Last weekend, days of torrential rain caused rivers to overflow, swamp cities, cut off major roads and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Selangor, Malaysia’s most densely populated and wealthiest state, which surrounds the capital Kuala Lumpur, has been one of the most affected areas.
Many people were stranded in their homes with barely any food for days in the flood-hit state capital Shah Alam, before being evacuated on boats in a chaotic rescue operation.
Inspector General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the death toll rose to 46 as more bodies were recovered, most of them killed in Selangor and Pahang states.
“Still five people are missing. We hope they will be found soon,” he said at a press conference.
He said 54,532 people were still there in over 300 evacuation centers in seven states and 68 roads were closed due to the floods.
As workers used backhoes and lorries to clear goods scattered on the streets outside people’s homes, Acryl Sani said he called for caution as some rivers were overflowing.
Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim had earlier urged the government to conduct a public inquiry after the widely criticized flood response.
Poor coordination between government agencies and delayed deployment of the military “turned the natural disaster response into a human, regime disaster,” he said.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yacoub acknowledged there were “weaknesses”, but promised future improvements.
Southeast Asian countries are hit by flooding during the monsoon season from November to February every year, but the worst since 2014 was over the weekend.
Global warming has been linked to worsening flooding. Since a warmer climate holds more water, extreme rainfall from climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding.