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  Yahoo News 15 Jan 06
Over 110,000 Malaysians forced to flee their homes

Channel NewsAsia 13 Jan 07
50,000 Malaysians displaced in second wave of flooding

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 07
20,000 flee homes as second wave of floods hits Malaysia's south

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 07
At least 16 killed, dozens missing in Indonesia's Sulawesi floods

Yahoo News 11 Jan 07
Malaysia says flood damage cost more than 100 million ringgit

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said initial estimates of damages from floods were at more than 100 million ringgit (28.42 million dollars), state media reported.

The floods, the worst in decades, inundated thousands of homes and businesses mostly in Malaysia's southern Johor state, where the number of evacuees peaked at 90,000 late last month.

Rains are now hitting the country's north and its eastern states on Borneo island, and Abdullah warned of flooding with forecasts of more rain, the Bernama news agency reported.

"We are worried about the impact of heavy and continuous rain as this can lead to rivers bursting their banks again and so on," he was quoted as saying.

The metereological department Thursday warned of heavy rains in the eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah, which has seen hundreds evacuated this week, as well as fresh rains in Johor and central Pahang state.

The government has also estimated that floods in central and western states have cost farmers and livestock breeders an estimated 36.36 million ringgit in losses, according to Bernama.

Seventeen people have been killed so far floods caused by unseasonally heavy rain which started in December.

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 07
At least 16 killed, dozens missing in Indonesia's Sulawesi floods

JAKARTA : At least 16 people were killed and another 16 missing Friday in floods and landslides on a small island off Indonesia's Sulawesi, officials said. The floods hit Tahuna, district capital of the Sangihe islands, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of the North Sulawesi provincial capital Manado. The Indonesian Red Cross said 16 people were killed, 11 injured and 16 remained missing. More than 1,200 fled their homes and took refuge from the floods in schools and government buildings.

"People are staying in 10 locations, including the local parliament building and schools," Sangihe Red Cross official Frans Liwutang said in a statement. The Red Cross was sending medical supplies and body bags from Jakarta.

"There is also another landslide in Tabukan Utara," North Sulawesi police spokesman Denny Bela said earlier from Manado, referring to another area on the small island. "It has been raining for the past month in North Sulawesi and usually near the end of January there are many regions that are flooded," Bela said.

Rescuers were using heavy machinery to search for survivors. "Evacuation efforts are difficult because the terrain is hilly," local police spokesman Denny Kusumulaa told ElShinta radio. All victims were taken to Lium Kendage hospital in Tahuna.

"We will send help soon to Tahuna, where many people died in landslides and about 1,100 people have to leave their homes and stay in school buildings," health office head Christian Sila told ElShinta from Manado. Telephone communications to the island were virtually cut off.

Last month, dozens of people were killed in landslides and flash floods in the north of Sumatra island, which forced some 400,000 people to flee their homes. - AFP /dt

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 07
20,000 flee homes as second wave of floods hits Malaysia's south

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's south has been hit by a second wave of flooding, with two days of downpours forcing more than 20,000 people to flee their homes, officials said Friday.

"It's quite a gloomy morning," said Che Moin Umar, chief of the Crisis and Disaster Management Directorate. "We have a total number of victims evacuated at 20,051," he told AFP.

Che Moin said that most of Johor was affected, and that he expected more evacuations to take place over the weekend, with forecasts of rain. "People are taking very fast action to evacuate themselves ... That is a good step," he said.

Hundreds of people were already sheltering in flood evacuation centres in Johor in the aftermath of the first round of flooding which hit late last month, forcing 90,000 to evacuate their homes at the peak of the crisis. Since then rains have hit the country's north and its eastern states on Borneo island.

The meteorology department said Friday heavy rains would continue in Johor and three other states in the southwest until Monday. Heavy rain is also expected over the weekend in Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo.

Eighteen people have been killed so far in the floods -- the worst in decades -- caused by unseasonally heavy rain, with the latest casualty a young boy who drowned in Sabah last weekend.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday that initial estimates of the damages from the disaster had reached more than 100 million ringgit (28.42 million dollars). - AFP/ir

Channel NewsAsia 13 Jan 07
50,000 Malaysians displaced in second wave of flooding

AYER HITAM, Malaysia : Severe flooding in Malaysia's south has forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes, officials said Saturday.

"Our latest figure shows that 50,172 people have been evacuated so far," said Che Moin Umar, chief of the Crisis and Disaster Management Directorate. The new figures are more than double the 20,051 evacuees reported late Friday, as a second wave of flooding struck the region.

"It is a lot more today because the rain has not stopped and the volume is also quite high," Che Moin told AFP. "According to weather reports we expect more rain and more evacuations to take place over the next two days, until Monday."

Hundreds of people were already sheltering in flood evacuation centres in Johor after the first round of flooding had hit late last month, forcing 90,000 to evacuate their homes at the peak of the crisis.

Since then, rains have hit the country's north and its eastern states on Borneo island.

Che Moin said there were no fatalities in the second flooding and the worst hit areas were in Johor state. The state opened 208 flood relief centers on high ground to provide shelter to residents from 11, 557 families evacuated from their homes, he said.

On the outskirts of Ayer Hitam in Johor, water levels had inundated large stretches of roads, cutting off smaller villages from towns.

"Many people here had only just returned from the last round of floods and now they have to pack up and leave again," said Muhamad Rubae, a local resident. "Some of them have not even returned since December," Muhamad told AFP. "I just went back for four days and now I have to return here. How are we to cope with this," said one middle-aged woman who was at a relief centre.

The meteorology department said heavy rains would continue in Johor and three other states in the southwest until Monday. Heavy rain is also expected over the weekend in Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo. The floods -- the worst in decades -- have claimed eighteen lives so far, with the latest casualty a young boy who drowned in Sabah last weekend. - AFP /dt

Yahoo News 15 Jan 06
Over 110,000 Malaysians forced to flee their homes

BATU PAHAT, Malaysia (AFP) - Over 110,000 Malaysians have been forced to flee their homes as floods worsen in the south and on Borneo island, officials said as relief workers struggled to feed and shelter victims.

Nearly 105,000 people have abandoned their homes in the worst-hit state of Johor which borders Singapore and the figure was climbing, officials said. "The flood conditions are getting worse because the number of victims is increasing and for the moment it's still raining," said a spokesman from Johor's flood operations centre on Monday.

Rains have also forced the evacuation of some 2,500 people in central Pahang state and more than 4,260 in Sabah state on Borneo island. Eighteen people have been killed so far in two rounds of floods that started in December, which officials say are the worst Johor has seen in a century.

Government estimates have put the flood damages at more than 100 million ringgit (28.53 million dollars).

Health officials have warned of the risk of disease, particularly leptospirosis which is spread by animal urine and causes rashes, high fever and headache, after a report that two evacuees had died of the disease.

The director of Malaysia's disease control division, Ramlee Rahmat, said hundreds of health officials were on the alert for outbreaks in Johor evacuation centres. "We are looking for food and water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera and hepatitis," Ramlee told AFP. "We have a few hundred teams on the ground."

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ordered more police to be deployed in Johor, and authorities said that 1,500 would be drafted in to assist in relief efforts and to prevent looting.

He said Friday the government had not ruled out declaring a state of emergency in Johor, but the director of crisis and disaster management, Che Moin Umar, said Monday that no such declaration was expected.

"Until we have exhausted all our means in terms of manpower, equipment and facilities, there will be no state of emergency," he told AFP. Relief agencies have launched appeals for food and relief supplies, volunteers and even boats.

Newspaper reports said some shelters in Johor were bursting at the seams, while at least one centre in the area of Sri Medan said it was rationing food supplies.

Medical relief organisation Mercy Malaysia said some centres were overwhelmed and called for better government coordination of the relief efforts. "The information is fine, but in terms of how to channel aid ... there must be leadership on the ground," chief operating officer, Shareen Abdul Ghani told AFP.
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