Malaysia floods displace 122,000, India cyclone shuts schools

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — More than 122,000 people have been forced out of their homes as massive floods caused by relentless rains swept through Malaysia’s northern states, disaster officials said Saturday.

The number surpassed the 118,000 displaced during one of the country’s worst floodings in 2014, and disaster officials feared it could rise further as there was no let-up in torrential downpours.

The death toll remained at four recorded across Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak.

Kelantan state bore the brunt of the flooding, accounting for 63 percent of the 122,631 people displaced, according to data from the National Disaster Management Agency.

There were nearly 35,000 people evacuated in Terengganu, with the rest of the displacements reported from seven other states.

Heavy rains, which began early this week, continued to hammer Pasir Puteh town in Kelantan, where people could be seen walking through streets inundated with hip-deep waters.

Meanwhile, schools in India’s south were shut and hundreds of people moved inland to storm shelters ahead of a powerful cyclone storm set to hit the region on Saturday.

Cyclonic storm “Fengal” is forecast to make landfall in Tamil Nadu state with sustained winds of 70 to 80 kilometers an hour in the afternoon, India’s weather bureau said.

The forecast urged fishing crews to stay off the water and predicted surging waves of one meter that posed a flood risk to low-lying coastal areas.

Schools and colleges in numerous districts across Tamil Nadu were shut and at least 471 people had been moved to relief camps, the Economic Times newspaper reported.

“Fengal” skirted the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this week, killing at least 12 people including six children.