2020–2021 Malaysian floods is an event when several states in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

were flooded in late 2020 and early 2021. Floods caused about tens of thousands of people to be evacuated to evacuation centers. The floods also claimed several lives, causing almost all types of land transport in the areas affected by the floods to be cut off.

Affected areas

The floods affected part of

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

and

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

are the states most severely affected by the floods this time. Other states involved are

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

and

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

. Floods also occurred in

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Cause of flooding

Heavy rains for several days in a row were caused by the Northeast Monsoon Winds that hit the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, across Peninsular Malaysia. Heavy rains also hit

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and also caused severe flooding there.

Damage

Large floods have affected land transport in the affected states. There was a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

Bukit Fraser Fraser's Hill is a hill resort located on the Titiwangsa Mountains, Titiwangsa Ridge in Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is about north of Kuala Lumpur. In 1890, Louis James Fraser established the area as a tin mining community known as Pa ...

, Pahang. The East Coast expressways is closed from any vehicle starting from

Karak Karak may refer to: Places * Al-Karak or Kerak, city and Crusader castle in Jordan ** Karak Governorate, Jordan * al-Karak, Syria, city in Syria's Daraa Governorate * Karak Nuh, village in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon * Karak, Iran (disambiguation) ...

Lanchang Lanchang is a small town in Temerloh District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is accessible via the East Coast Expressway's Lanchang Interchange. The Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre is situated in Lanchang. This is the main attraction of this sma ...

. Federal and state roads were also closed.

Casualties

In Kelantan, a man was killed in this flood in Kampung Tasek Gong Kala, Pasir Puteh. Pahang, on the other hand, recorded two children killed after being swept away by the strong currents of Sungai Puas, Pahang. There were two casualties due to the floods, dan involving a woman and a young man in Johor.

Responses

Warning

Heavy rain and flood warnings have been issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) since early November 2020.

During flooding

The temporary evacuation center (PPS) was opened and operated by the Social Welfare Department (JKM) based on the instructions of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

. Apart from coordinating the opening of PPS, JKM also acts to provide all the basic needs in each PPS for the welfare of each flood victim. JKM also provides food supply to victims as well as coordinates actions to comply with the new standard operating procedures (SOP) norms with various relevant agencies. JKM also updates disaster information through the InfoBencanaJKM application. The Kelantan State Government also updated the flood information that occurred in the state in a special portal.

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

also launched a special crisis response portal on the social media site on 1 January 2021.

References

External links

InfoBencana Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat
Portal
e-Banjir for Kelantan State
Portal
Crisis response portal
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-2021 Malaysian floods 2020 in Malaysia 2021 in Malaysia Floods in Malaysia Natural disasters in Malaysia 2020 disasters in Malaysia 2021 disasters in Malaysia November 2020 events in Asia