Death toll in floods rises to 27

KUALA LUMPUR: The massive floods that hit the country on Saturday have claimed 27 lives so far, the highest death toll since the last major floods in 2014.

Twenty of the fatalities were reported in Selangor and seven in Pahang

Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said that as at this afternoon, 20 individuals were confirmed to have died in floods in the state.

Apart from Seksyen 25 Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam, bodies of flood victims were also recovered in Kajang, Sungai Buloh and the latest, in Klang.

In Seksyen 25 Taman Sri Muda, the worst hit area in Selangor, nine bodies were recovered by search and rescue teams from Saturday until early this morning.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Norazam Khamis said six of the bodies were found in several houses, involving five women and a man, while three more bodies were recovered around Taman Sri Muda after flood waters started receding.

"The first victim, a man, was found at 6 pm on Saturday while two other male victims were found the following day at noon and 2 pm, and five were found yesterday between noon and 8.35 pm involving four women and a man," he told Bernama when contacted.

Norazam said the body of another woman was found at 6.20 pm in a single-storey house. She is believed to have drowned.

Three bodies of drowning victims were also found around the town, one each at the traffic lights junction of Kemuning Utama, Seksyen 33; at the Jalan Utama entry into Alam Idaman, Seksyen 22 on Sunday; and under the Elite Expressway in front of MSU Seksyen 13 yesterday.

The flood fatalities in Pahang involved two in Kuantan and five in Bentong.

The incidents in Bentong involved water surge cases in two areas - at a resort where one body was found and two people are still missing, and in Telemong involving residents there where as at this afternoon four bodies have been found and one person is still missing.

In 2014, big floods struck five states - Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Perak and Johor - claiming 21 lives in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang while 10 people were reported missing.

-- BERNAMA