At least 21 people have been killed and eight others are missing after the worst flooding in decades across Malaysia’s northeast, police said Wednesday, with almost a quarter of a million people displaced.
They said 14 of the deaths were recorded in the worst-hit state of Kelantan, where some 158,476 people were displaced.
Four people died in Terengganu and three in Pahang state. There are also reports of outbreaks of flu and diarrhoea.
The number forced from their homes in the other affected states — Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and Johor — totalled 83,570.
Forecasters Wednesday predicted clear skies for the next three days.
“But we are still in the northeast monsoon period until March. We could expect heavy showers later in the week,” a meteorological department official said.
Floodwaters have began to subside in many areas but authorities are bracing for possible disease outbreaks.
Noor Hisham Abdullah, health ministry director-general, said there was no major rise in flood-related diseases at the moment.
“We anticipate that flood victims will come in masses seeking care once the floodwaters start to recede,” he said in a Facebook posting.
