Floods worsen in Malaysia's northeast

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR (AA) - Monsoon floods continued to affect two northeastern states of Malaysia on Tuesday, causing the closure of schools and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

As of 5 p.m. (0900GMT), more than 8,800 people in Kelantan and Terengganu had been evacuated to relief centers with major roads and residential areas submerged.

The minister in charge of disaster management, Shahidan Kassim, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that the government expected the situation to worsen after 48-hours of continuous heavy rainfall.

He added that more than 2,000 personnel with 45 boats and 40 vehicles were now involved in rescue activities.

"Some 5,300 people have been evacuated in Kelantan from their homes to the relief centers," he said in a telephone conversation, adding that evacuees in Terengganu stood at over 3,500.

"We have been forced to open six new flood relief centers in Kelantan alone due to the high number of evacuees. This brings the total relief centers to 55."

Some 49 primary and secondary schools remained closed following the New Year holiday period due to the weather.

Kassim said Kelantan, which shares a border with Thailand, is working closely with its neighbor to monitor the current situation.

"We are concerned about the flood situation in [the Thai province of] Narathiwat and the government has been keeping in touch with the Thai security agency to monitor and keep us informed on the latest disaster situation there," he said.

The governor of Narathiwat, Sittichai Sakda, was reported as saying Monday that continuous rain over the past four days had caused floods in 10 out of 13 districts in the province, affecting 23,549 residents from 150 villages.

Malaysia and Thailand borders via the Golok River, which has flooded the busy Kelantan town of Rantau Panjang.

The river's water level has also surpassed the danger level, making the situation more vulnerable.

Monsoon floods are not a new phenomenon in Malaysia, as almost each year-end the east coast faces heavy rainfall, which results in flash flooding.

At the end of 2014, Malaysia witnessed its worst floods in 30 years, with over 250,000 people evacuated at their peak.