Perilous Times and Climate Change
Malaysia evacuates thousands as floods hit
* From: AFP
* November 02, 2010 6:28PM
MALAYSIAN authorities have shut schools and evacuated more than 12,000
people as floodwaters rise in two northern states hit by torrential
rain, official media said on today.
In Perlis state, which borders Thailand, 11 schools were shut and 3000
evacuees were taking shelter in relief centres, state news agency
Bernama said.
Several roads were blocked and public buildings including a hospital
were flooded, it said, as local residents scrambled to shift their
belongings to dry land.
In neighbouring Kedah state, some 9,264 residents were shifted out of
affected areas, and housed in 39 relief centres.
Bernama cited local emergency authorities as saying that several rivers
in Kedah had risen above the danger level.
In Thailand heavy flooding has already left more than 100 people dead,
mostly in the central and eastern areas.
Today, flash floods up to several metres deep swept through the city of
Hat Yai in the south, stranding about 100,000 residents, officials said.
Thai authorities estimate that almost six million people have been
affected, with homes submerged and farmland or cattle destroyed.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has described the floods as "a huge
natural calamity''.
Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/malaysia-evacuates-thousands-as-floods-hit/story-e6frfku0-1225946875074#ixzz147vai93q