Flooding caused by days of heavy rain has forced nearly 40,000 people to flee their homes in Malaysia’s southern Johor state, which borders Singapore, and at least four people have died in the last week, officials said on Saturday.
“We used to always prepare for the rainy season in November and December,” said Mohd Noor Saad, 57, of the town of Yong Peng in Johor’s Batu Pahat district.
“Every household had a boat, but with the unpredictable weather, it appears that we are unprepared, and things have become chaotic.”
According to the national disaster management agency, authorities have set up more than 200 relief shelters for people displaced by the floods.
Overflows in Malaysia are common during the annual monsoon season between October and March, but the downpour this week left many Johor residents scrambling to find shelter.
Carrying belongings out of her house in thigh-high water, cafe worker Kabibah Siam, 54, said she was resigned to fending for herself during the floods.
“What can we do? We cannot complain about our fate because everyone is in the same boat here,” she said.
While Johor was worst-hit, there was flooding in other states too that displaced hundreds of people.
The meteorological department warned of more rain in the coming days, mostly in the southern states.
