[UPDATED] Floods claim 37 lives, 10 still missing

KUALA LUMPUR – One of Malaysia’s worst flood disasters in living memory has claimed 37 lives thus far while 10 victims remain missing.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the fatalities include the five bodies – of four adults and one child – found yesterday.

“Across the country, the disaster has taken the lives of 37 victims, while 10 more are still missing,” he said at a press conference today.

The 10 include two victims who were reported missing yesterday.

Meanwhile, a total of 68,341 victims have been relocated to 396 evacuation centres in seven states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Besides the capital city, the states heavily affected by the floods are Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang and Kelantan, he said.

Asked about the autopsies conducted on the remains of the deceased, some of whom were found dead on the rooftops of their homes, Acryl Sani said his team has not received the forensic reports yet.

“So far, we have not received any reports. If necessary, we will need to provide more information (to the forensics teams). So far, I believe, the post-mortems are still in progress,” he said.

The top cop also said there are 137 road closures in all affected states as of today. The bulk of these, 120 in total, are in Pahang.

“At 2.30am this morning, we identified 23 locations or areas where water levels were at high-alert levels.

“These areas are near rivers. The ‘dangerous’ status has been issued for 13 areas. Nine of these rivers are in Pahang, two in Kelantan, one in Johor and one in Selangor.

“The relevant agencies have reported that the water is almost spilling over and there could be a possibility of further flooding in days to come,” he said.

At the moment, 66,015 personnel from various agencies have been mobilised for flood mitigation efforts.

In light of continued reports of theft and looting in flood-hit areas, he advised those who have sought shelter at PPS not to resort to such activities.

“There have been seven cases of break-ins with arrests made,” he said.

“I want to tell people, even foreigners, to come to the PPS to get food and supplies, especially in Shah Alam.

“There are food supplies and aid available at every PPS that has been set up,” he said. 

On the viral news of a tow truck driver attempting to steal a car, he said the police have arrested the driver.

Acryl Sani also sought to explain an apparent discrepancy between the death toll given by each state government and that given by the federal authorities, the latter of which is higher.

He said every type of death during the floods must be reported to the police in accordance with the provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code.

Each of the deaths reported to the police is recorded as part of statistics related to the floods, and a file will be opened for the case to be categorised as a “sudden death” report. – The Vibes, December 23, 2021