KUALA TERENGGANU: The first wave of floods that affected Terengganu since last month has claimed four lives.

State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairudin said the most recent death involved a 36-year-old man, Wan Muhamad Firdaus Wan Nasir, who was found drowned at an oil palm plantation in Felda Kerteh 3 in Ketengah Jaya, near Dungun.

The man was reported missing after his motorcycle was swept away by strong currents while he was riding through a heavily-flooded road.

DCP Mohd Khairi said the body was found at 2.15pm on Monday by Fire and Rescue Department personnel and villagers, Bernama reported.

He said the first casualty of the floods was Tuan Jusoh Tuan Hassan, 66, who drowned while fishing in a padi field area in Jalan Kampung Pinang, Besut, on Nov 28.

The next victims were two siblings of a landslide at their home in Kampung Bukit Apit, Ajil, near Hulu Terengganu, on Nov 29, at around 4.50pm.

DCP Mohd Khairi said the bodies of Puteri Sajidah Azman, 16, and her younger sister, Siti Fatimah, 13, were found at 6.30pm and 7pm respectively.

“Investigations found that the landslide occurred from a hill behind their house, about 30m away, due to heavy rain,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Months of average rainfall within five days in the east coast states have resulted in severe flooding that was beyond expectations, says the Prime Minister.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the higher average rainfall took place between Nov 26 and 30, forcing a huge number of people in Kelantan and Terengganu to be evacuated.

He said recorded rainfall at the Irrigation and Drainage Department stations in Tanah Merah and Tumpat, for example, exceeded 116.7cm of rain in just five days.

“According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (Metmalaysia), the reading (in Kelantan) was at 144.2cm, which is an extraordinarily high level of rainfall.

“In Terengganu, Metmalaysia’s Besut station recorded 176.1cm of rain during the same period.

“Overall, the rainfall was at 134.9cm, which is far beyond expectations,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during the Prime Minister Question Time.

Anwar also said the government is preparing for a monsoon surge, which is expected to start from Dec 8 to 14 in the eastern part of the peninsula.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to enforcement agencies and local authorities for flood relief efforts throughout the week.

“A total of 80,000 civil servants were involved in the operations which comprised federal and state governments, as well as district authorities.

“Government-linked companies, private sectors and non-governmental organisations also joined in to assist the victims,” he said.

Anwar said with the floodwaters receding, Skuad Insan Madani has been on the ground to assist the victims with the post-flooding cleaning efforts.

“I thank all Malaysians from various backgrounds who came forward to help out during the disaster,” he added.

PETALING JAYA: With Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stressing that the floods currently affecting Kelantan and Terengganu are expected to be worse than the 2014 disaster, an academic has called for stricter laws to regulate development in flood-prone areas to minimise flood risks and protect communities.

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Faculty of Earth Science Assoc Prof Dr Mohamad Faiz Mohd Amin said it is crucial to have clear zoning regulations that categorise high-risk areas as non-developable.

“Such regulations should be enforced to prevent construction that could worsen flooding. Environmental impact assessments must be strengthened to ensure that all development projects consider flood risks and incorporate mitigation measures.

“Laws could also mandate the inclusion of sustainable urban planning features, such as green infrastructure, permeable surfaces, and natural flood retention areas to reduce runoff and enhance water absorption,” he said. The Social Welfare Department’s Info

Banjir portal said the number of flood evacuees nationwide has reached 85,652 as of press time.

Mohamad Faiz said the increasing intensity of floods in Malaysia is strongly linked to climate change, and that sea levels have been rising at rates of 3.2mm/year in Peninsular Malaysia, and 2.9mm/year in Sabah and Sarawak since the 1980s.

Projections indicate a rise of up to 0.25m by 2050, significantly heightening the risk of coastal inundation.

“Additionally, increased rainfall intensity during the northeast monsoon is expected to expand flood-prone areas from 6.5% to 8.9% of Malaysia’s land area by 2100, exposing more communities and infrastructure to severe flooding.

“These changes, compounded by urbanisation and deforestation, exacerbate the vulnerability of urban and coastal regions to flooding, and underline the urgent need for robust mitigation and adaptation strategies.”

Mohamad Faiz said Malaysia’s drainage systems and flood barriers, while functional under normal conditions, are often inadequate to handle the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events driven by climate change.

“Many existing systems were designed decades ago, based on historic rainfall patterns, which do not account for the current increase in extreme precipitation.”

He said recent flood mitigation measures included the implementation of retention basins and upgraded river embankments under the RM11.8 billion allocated in Budget 2024, but the pace of upgrading infrastructure may not fully match the rapid escalation of weather extremes.

Mohamad Faiz said in certain areas, particularly in rapidly urbanising or rural regions, the complete absence of proper drainage systems leaves communities entirely exposed to floodwaters, with no mechanisms to channel or manage excess rainwater.

“Additionally, infrastructure designed based on outdated rainfall data fails to account for current climate variability, leaving these regions even more vulnerable.”

He suggested that Malaysia could learn from successful flood mitigation projects in other countries.

For example, the Netherlands’ “Room for the River” programme, which creates space for rivers to overflow by relocating dykes and expanding floodplains.

“The strategy could be applied to river basins like Sungai Kelantan, where flood plains could be restored to manage overflow during heavy rainfall.

Tokyo’s G-Cans Project, which uses underground tanks and tunnels to redirect floodwater, could also be adopted in cities like Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru to manage flash floods from rapid urbanisation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera Malaysia president Mohd Yusaimi Yusof urged policymakers to focus on enforcing existing policies effectively to prevent floods from worsening.

“Existing regulations may fall short in effectively reducing flood risks, highlighting the need for stricter enforcement to ensure compliance and better coordination among agencies involved in environmental management. All levels of society must understand and take action to address these effects,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Jumlah mangsa banjir di tujuh negeri semakin berkurangan kepada 77,695 orang petang ini berbanding 95,207 yang direkodkan, pagi tadi.

Berdasarkan portal Info Bencana Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) setakat jam 3 petang, mangsa terdiri daripada 23,459 keluarga yang masih berlindung di 274 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS.

Daripada jumlah itu, Kelantan masih merekodkan jumlah mangsa tertinggi dengan 46,681 orang daripada 14,836 keluarga yang ditempatkan di 101 PPS.

Di Terengganu, 21,975 mangsa daripada 5,813 keluarga dari lapan daerah terjejas masih mendapatkan perlindungan di 101 PPS.

Di Kedah, seramai 7,123 mangsa daripada 2,251 keluarga ditempatkan di 37 PPS, manakala sebuah PPS masih beroperasi di Pahang bagi menempatkan empat mangsa daripada sebuah keluarga.

Johor pula mengaktifkan 22 PPS di dua daerah bagi memberi perlindungan kepada 1,096 orang daripada 312 keluarga dengan Perak menempatkan 644 orang daripada 202 keluarga di 10 PPS.

Selain itu, dua PPS di Melaka masih dibuka bagi menempatkan 172 orang daripada 44 keluarga.