Malaysia: Number of flood evacuees drops, 10 die

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Floods continue to swamp several parts of Malaysia although the number of evacuees dropped from around 45,000 last week to 32,000 on Monday.

According to authorities, at least 10 people have died from flooding so far.

The Disaster Management Agency said more evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes as floods in some affected areas, including the Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Perak states, showed signs of improvement.

But the number of evacuees in Johor rose due to heavy rainfall overnight. As of Monday morning, the number of refugees in the state increased to 3,025 compared to 1,741 on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, in Kelantan, the number of evacuees dropped to 1,704 compared to 2,118 on Sunday evening.

Pahang remains the worst affected state with around 23,000 evacuees.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin asked the federal and state governments to work together to ensure the welfare of flood victims so that it is not limited to the provision of daily necessities while they are housed at relief centers.

* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian-language service in Jakarta.