Malaysia evacuates 120,000 as floods spread to Johor

PM Najib cuts short US holiday to oversee relief operations
Straits Times 27 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR - Nearly 120,000 Malaysians have been forced out of their homes in the worst flooding in decades, a disaster that has forced Prime Minister Najib Razak to cut short a holiday in the United States.

Kuala Lumpur has also cancelled its annual New Year celebration, in a mark of respect for the record number of evacuees, with several state governments following suit.

At least five people have been killed by the rising waters, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

As of 3pm yesterday, 118,896 people had been moved to flood relief centres, mostly in the northern states of Kelantan (45,467), Pahang (35,736), Terengganu (31,001) and Perak (6,119).

Johor became the latest state to be affected, with 214 displaced in the towns of Kluang and Muar yesterday. Flood waters in the southern state were still rising in the afternoon, a National Security Council spokesman was reported by Bernama news agency as saying.

Datuk Seri Najib will touch down in hardest-hit Kelantan today, according to a government statement. He deemed it necessary to "personally oversee the response", following reports that the situation had worsened.

"I am deeply concerned by the floods. I feel for the people who have lost their homes, and the families who have lost loved ones," he said in the statement yesterday, adding that he would chair disaster relief meetings to seek new measures once he returned from the US.

The Prime Minister had come under criticism after photos of him playing golf with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii surfaced earlier this week while tens of thousands, including in his home state of Pahang, were being forced out of their muddy homes.

But Mr Najib said he has been in "constant contact with" relief teams "who have assured me that they are doing everything they can to help those who have been affected".

"But I want to see the situation for myself and be with the people," he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been in charge of relief operations in Mr Najib's absence and ordered more assets to be deployed yesterday, after describing the floods as worse than anticipated. "We are using seven helicopters... these may not be enough," he was quoted by Bernama as saying in Kelantan.

International Trade and Investment Minister Mustapa Mohamed also admitted that government relief efforts needed to be improved, as distribution of aid in his home state of Kelantan was hindered by waterlogged roads.

Although year-end flooding is common in the north-east due to the monsoon season, rainfall in the past week has been excessive, and the damage has been exacerbated by deforestation that activists say is among the worst in the world.

In a rare piece of positive news, however, around 100 tourists stranded in the national forest reserve Taman Negara have been rescued and taken to a relief centre, reported AFP.

Flash floods have also hit Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas in the Klang Valley.

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No respite for east coast states
New Straits Times 27 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no let up in the harsh weather conditions, as the next round of heavy rain is expected to hit the east coast states, as well as Perak, Sabah, Sarawak and Johor tomorrow.

Meteorological Department National Weather Centre senior meteorological officer Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the new phase could last about a week.

“If the next phase is made up of continuous rainfall, there is a possibility that the floods might get even worse in the east coast states, as well as Perak.

“There is a high chance Johor might also be flooded this time around, especially in the eastern and central parts. Sabah and Sarawak will also experience very heavy rain and flooding too,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Hisham said Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan would experience heavy rain spillover.

However, Hisham added that Kelantan and Terengganu were experiencing very little rain that had allowed water to recede but water flow had been hindered by high tides.

He said twice-daily high tides at 11am, and between 8pm and 9pm, have seen the tides coming in at 1.5m in Kelantan, above 2m in Terengganu and 3m in Pahang had caused a reverse flow.

“When a high tide occurs, the sea level will rise, not allowing water from the rivers to flow back into the sea, creating a reverse situation.”

Blame it on the moon, too
The Star 27 Dec 14;

PETALING JAYA: The massive flooding of Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast states is not just due to extremely heavy rainfall – the moon has something to do with it as well.

According to the Malaysia Meteorological Department (MMD), the gravitational pull of the moon can lead to higher than normal high tides, more so when it is at its closest to the earth, a position also known as perigee.

The moon was at perigee at Dec 24 at 16:44 GMT (or 12.44am on Christmas Day here), where it was as close as 364,791km from Earth, appearing as a super moon, or a larger than usual moon, even to the most casual of observers.

The gravitational pull of the moon can generate extreme high tides at this position.

MMD spokesman Dr Mohd Hisham Anip said that it was understood that continuous strong winds brought lots of moisture and created dense clouds in our region.

“The wind came from the western Pacific and China, and we haven’t understood how this year differs from previous years,” Dr Mohd Hisham said yesterday.

He said more studies needed to be conducted on the effects of high tide when augmented by the new moon and perigee.

“The good news is that the peak of the high tide is over, which was on Dec 23 and 24,” he said.

“All we know is the high tide is coming and it is higher than usual,” he said, adding that extremely heavy or prolonged rain that coincides with higher than usual tides is usually a recipe for flooding as the river mouth is effectively “blocked” by a wall of water.

MMD said further episodes of high tide is expected to come again on Monday, and this would probably affect Pahang, Johor and Sarawak.

The not so good news is that the rainy season is expected to end only by the middle or end of February.

Dr Mohd Hisham also revealed that in a “normal” month, rainfall averages between 500mm to 600mm in a month for the east coast.

“But areas such as Kuala Krai in Kelantan, Kuantan in Pahang and Gong Badak in Terengganu received more than 1,000mm of rainfall this month.”

Rail service to east coast halted
The Star 27 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) has stopped its rail service to the east coast as its coaches are submerged in the floods that had hit the region.

Three hundred bridge tracks, 10 train stations and 19 coaches are affected by the floods, either submerged entirely or partially by waters up to 3m high, according to the rail company.

“This is the worst flood the company has seen since 1969,” said KTMB chairman Datuk Nawawi Ahmad.

“We are sad to say we have stopped our east coast operations since Monday and the situation is expected to last till the end of next month,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Eight intercity and express trains have been cancelled from the Chegar Perah station in Pahang to Tumpat in Kelantan.

With 800 staff members of KTMB affected, Nawawi said the company wanted to send food and basic necessities to them but, without a single landing pad for helicopters, they can only airdrop the items.

“In the east coast, train services are an important form of transportation for the people, especially when roads can’t be used.

“Train stations used to be shelters for flood victims, too, but this time, we are heavily affected as well,” said Nawawi, who estimated losses of about “a few million ringgit” for the company.

“We have to see where the waters recede. There is a possibility of more train losses in this disaster,” he added.

KTMB sent out a team of volunteers to bring aid to the victims yesterday and a flood operation centre has been set up to monitor train operations and other flood-related matters.