Malaysian officials said that massive floods caused by days of heavy rain forced nearly 40,000 people to leave their homes in the southern state of Johor, Reuters reported Saturday.
Officials additionally stated that the floods killed at least four individuals, according to Reuters. Authorities set up over 200 shelters to aid individuals and families displaced by the floods.
The floods forced some individuals to climb to their rooftops and await rescue boats, the Associated Press (AP) reported. One baby was even carried to safety in a bucket.
Mohd Noor Saad, a resident of the Johor town of Yong Peng, told Reuters that locals previously prepared “for the rainy season in November and December” with “each household [having] a boat, but now with the unpredictable weather, it seems that we are not prepared and it’s become chaotic.”
Kabibah Siam, a cafe worker forced to carry objects out of her flooded home, told the outlet that “everyone is in the same boat here” so locals “cannot complain.” (RELATED: 36 Killed By Floods, Landslides As Massive Rains Batter Brazil)
Four people were killed and nearly 40,000 residents #evacuated after continuous heavy #rain triggered flooding in the southern #Malaysian state of #Johor, officials said on #Saturday#Flood #malaysia #FloodWarning pic.twitter.com/9LYJIWSUYl
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) March 4, 2023
Malaysia has an annual monsoon season that usually lasts from October until March, according to Reuters. Meteorologists warned that the current monsoon season could continue until April 2023, the AP reported.
The rains constituted the sixth set of heavy rains in the current monsoon season, according to the AP. Heavy rains are expected to continuously batter southern Malaysia in the coming days, Reuters reported.