Malaysia: Downpour causes floods in several areas in Selangor

The Star 14 Dec 15;

PETALING JAYA: Several hours of torrential rain brought havoc, causing flash floods in at least 10 locations in the state.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant operations director Mohd Sani Harul said as of 6pm yesterday, three families had to be evacuated to a community hall after flash floods hit Kampung Chinchang, Labu, in Sepang.

“Flood waters rose between two and three feet high which saw 15 homes affected but the situation did not warrant an evacuation.

“In Kampung Kubu Gajah, Sungai Buloh, five people were brought to higher ground when water started to rise,” he said.

Mohd Sani said flash floods also hit Kampung Bukit Cherakah, Shah Alam, where four people were temporarily evacuated while awaiting the water to recede.

Other areas affected were the Universiti Teknologi Mara campus in Puncak Alam, Batu 3, Jalan Kapar (Klang), Jalan Jati (Klang), Kampung Sri Aman (Puchong), Kampung Tengah (Puchong), Taman Bukit Kemuning (Shah Alam) and Jalan Paip (Klang).

In Ipoh, the number of flood evacuees at the relief centre in Perak Tengah stood at 86 people from 19 families.

State Fire and Rescue Depart­ment director Datuk Yahya Madis said they were housed at Surau Nurul Jannah in Parit 6, Layang-Layang Kiri.

“The group comprises 27 men, 29 women, 16 boys and 14 girls,” he said, adding that the water level remained at 0.75m.

In Johor Baru, the floods which hit several villages in Batu Pahat have receded completely and all evacuees had returned home.

Meanwhile, Terengganu was all set to face bouts of heavy rain, expected to hit the state due to a cold surge this week.

The state Civil Defence Depart­ment director Lt-Kol Che Adam A. Rahman said their personnel had already been placed on standby for any eventualities.

“Village heads have also worked on updating the data of the people in their respective village to enable us to provide the required assistance,” he said.


Some flights at KLIA and KLIA2 rerouted and delayed on Sunday night
P. DIVAKARAN The Star 13 Dec 15;

PETALING JAYA: Several flights departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have been rerouted while others had been delayed due to bad weather conditions.

According to a statement by Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB), four flights scheduled to land at KLIA were rerouted to other airports due to bad weather while 12 flight arrivals and seven flight departures at the International Airport 2 (KLIA2) were delayed.

Two airplanes were diverted to the Penang International Airport and another two at Senai International Airport in Johor.

In an additional statement, Malaysia Airlines said “Malaysia Airlines flights MH723/725 on 13 Dec experienced some delay due to operational constraints. The inbound flight operating the Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta sector was delayed because of the adverse weather in Kuala Lumpur. This also affected the crew flight duty period, in which the crew had already exceeded their permitted flying hours.

Safety is of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines and the airline regrets any inconvenience caused."

Meanwhile, the Star received a phone call from a distressed passenger who declined to be named claiming to be on board a flight bound for Mumbai, India.

The caller said that passengers on the flight had been forced to sit on board the plane for three hours before it was announced that their flight had been cancelled.

According to the passenger, no official from Malaysia Airlines was present to give instructions to passengers who became confused and upset.

Some passengers had reported on social media that flights were delayed by as much as three to four hours.