Malaysia floods: Fifth fatality reported in Johor; number of evacuees drops slightly
An aerial view of a flooded neighbourhood in Johor's Segamat district. (Photo: Facebook/Balai Polis Segamat)
KUALA LUMPUR: The body of a woman who was reported missing in the flood in the southern state of Johor was found on Monday (Mar 6) night, bringing the total number of deaths there to five.
Separately, the number of victims at flood evacuation centres in Malaysia has dropped slightly to 42,501 people as of Tuesday afternoon, down from 43,406 the night before, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA).
The 24-year-old woman was found in her car in Johor’s Mersing district and was feared to have drowned, Malay Mail reported.
A search-and-rescue team from the Mersing Fire and Rescue Station reportedly freed the woman’s body from her car at around 10.30pm on Monday night.
“The operation to bring up the victim's car that was submerged in floodwaters started from 6.55pm, shortly after the Perodua Myvi was located about 15 metres from the last reported position,” Assistant Fire Superintendent Abdul Muiz Mukhtar was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
Prior to this, local police said a 68-year-old woman drowned near her flooded house after she left an evacuation centre in Segamat, Johor.
Last Thursday, the bodies of two senior citizens trapped in their homes were recovered by authorities in Segamat as well. Both victims were living alone and the water level at their houses had gone as high as the roof, according to Bernama.
A man was also killed in Johor last Wednesday after his car was swept away by floodwaters.
NUMBER OF FLOOD VICTIMS DROPPED SLIGHTLY
Johor remains the worst-hit state with 39,315 people evacuated to the flood relief centres, down from 40,129 people from the night before. According to NADMA, 212 flood relief centres remain open in the state.
Batu Pahat is the worst affected district in Johor, with 23,370 people evacuated to 78 flood relief centres. This is followed by the districts of Muar (4,106), Segamat (3,620) and Kluang (2,591).
Meanwhile, the states of Pahang and Melaka in Peninsular Malaysia are also affected by the floods. Across the two states, 23 flood relief centres were open as of Tuesday afternoon, housing close to 3,200 victims.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article said that the number of people in evacuation centres had dropped by about half. This was based on data on the website of the National Disaster Management Agency at 6am on Mar 7. NADMA subsequently issued a new report in which the number of people evacuated had gone down only slightly.
