KUALA LUMPUR – The floods that hit the country at the end of last year and early this year have resulted in losses amounting to RM6.1 billion, equivalent to 0.4% of the nominal Gross Domestic Product, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
Director-general Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said based on the 2021 Special Report on Impact of Floods in Malaysia, which was released today, public assets and infrastructure suffered the highest loss at RM2 billion, followed by housing (RM1.6 billion) and vehicles (RM1 billion).
Meanwhile, he said, the manufacturing sector suffered a loss of RM900 million, followed by business premises (RM500 million) and agriculture (RM90.6 million).
The report, which presents the impact of floods based on case studies around the Klang Valley and socio-economic statistics at the district level, was obtained via a special survey to assess the impact of floods conducted from December 30 until yesterday.
DOSM used a face-to-face census in the affected areas with questionnaires, observation methods and telephone calls, in addition to administrative data obtained from various agencies as data collection for the survey.
The affected states were Johor, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kuala Lumpur.
Based on the report, Selangor recorded the highest losses for categories involving residences, manufacturing, vehicles and business premises.
For the residential category, Uzir said Selangor stands out with a loss of RM1 billion, followed by Pahang (RM425.6 million) and Melaka (RM69.7 million).
“The district that recorded the highest loss in Selangor for the residential category was Petaling (RM258 million), followed by Hulu Langat (RM253.6 million) and Klang (RM252.8 million),” he said.
For vehicles, the three states posting the highest losses were Selangor at RM855 million, followed by Pahang (RM78.2 million) and Negri Sembilan (RM18.3 million).
“In Selangor, Petaling district recorded the highest loss for vehicle damage, amounting RM328.3 million, followed by Klang (RM276.9 million) and Hulu Langat (RM155.5 million),” he said.
Uzir said for the manufacturing sector, Selangor recorded a total loss of RM884.5 million, followed by Pahang (RM5.6 million) and Negri Sembilan (RM1.2 million).
“Selangor also recorded losses related to business premises, amounting to RM396.4 million. Pahang posted the second-highest loss at RM83.8 million followed by Johor with a RM13.8 million loss,” he said.
He said other studies carried out by DOSM in flood-hit states were also included in the report to help consumers understand the adverse effects of flooding in the country. – Bernama, January 28, 2022
