110,000 flee homes as floods ravage Malaysia

MORE than 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 it’s still raining,” said a spokesman from Johor’s flood operations centre yesterday.

Rains have also forced the evacuation of 2,500 people in central Pahang state and more than 4,260 in Sabah state on Borneo island.

Eighteen people have been killed in two rounds of floods that started in December, the worst Johor has seen in a century.

Government estimates have put the flood damages at more than 100 million ringgit (€22 million).

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 1,500 would be drafted in to assist in relief efforts.

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.