Over 110Â 000 Malaysians have been forced to flee their homes as floods worsen in the south and on Borneo island, officials said on Monday as relief workers struggled to feed and shelter victims.
Nearly 105Â 000 people have abandoned their homes in the worst-hit state of Johor, which borders Singapore, and the figure is climbing, officials said.
”The flood conditions are getting worse because the number of victims is increasing and for the moment it’s still raining,” said a spokesperson from Johor’s flood-operations centre.
Rains have also forced the evacuation of about 2Â 500 people in central Pahang state and more than 4Â 260 in Sabah state on Borneo island.
Eighteen people have been killed so far in two rounds of floods that started in December, which officials say are the worst Johor has seen in a century.
Government estimates have put the flood damages at more than 100-million ringgit ($28-million).
Health officials have warned of the risk of disease, particularly leptospirosis, which is spread by animal urine and causes rashes, high fever and headache, after a report that two evacuees had died of the disease.
The director of Malaysia’s disease-control division, Ramlee Rahmat, said hundreds of health officials were on the alert for outbreaks in Johor evacuation centres.
”We are looking for food and water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera and hepatitis,” Ramlee said. ”We have a few hundred teams on the ground.”
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ordered more police to be deployed in Johor, and authorities said that 1Â 500 would be drafted in to assist in relief efforts and to prevent looting.
He said on Friday that the government had not ruled out declaring a state of emergency in Johor, but the director of crisis and disaster management, Che Moin Umar, said on Monday that no such declaration was expected.
”Until we have exhausted all our means in terms of manpower, equipment and facilities, there will be no state of emergency,” he said.
Relief agencies have launched appeals for food and relief supplies, volunteers and even boats.
Newspaper reports said some shelters in Johor were bursting at the seams, while at least one centre in the area of Sri Medan said it was rationing food supplies. — AFP
