Worst flooding of decade hits Malaysia, Philippines; Kills Dozens

A week long torrential rains across the globe have forced lakhs of people to flee their homes while dozens have died due to flash floods resulted by these unrelenting rains.

Several days of torrential rain has resulted in widespread flooding across Uruguay, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Floods in Uruguay

Unusually heavy rains for a week, leading to landslides, have resulted in floods in seven provinces of Uruguay. For this South American country, Montevideo was the worst hit province by these week long rains. Much of the city has been left under water. Heavy rainfall and flash floods caused hereafter have been reported to be the worst in Uruguay in last 50 years.

Floods in Philippines

Tropical storm Jangmi struck Philippines in the early hours of Monday. It had sustained winds approaching 80kph with gusts of around 100kph.
The heavy rains lasting for three days have forced the local authorities to announce this as a state of calamity in the region. As the storm staggered across the country at a speed of 15 kph, Butan recorded 188 mm of rain, while Hinatuan recorded a rainfall of more than 250 mm in a span of 24 hours.

For this island country, where the average storms per year stands at 20, tropical storm Jangmi  was the 19^th storm of the year.

Flood in Southeast Asia

Indonesia’s Aceh Province, Malaysian states of Kelantan, Terrengganu and Pahang,Thailand and Sri Lanka are some of the places in Southeast Asia that have been hit by severe floods in last few days. Considered as one of the worst floods of the decade, more than 100,000 people were left displaced. Almost 20 people have died due to deluge.

In Aceh Province in Indonesia, the flooding came just as the area was preparing to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people. Malaysia’s northeastern states were hardest hit by a week of above average rainfall.

While the murky brown water will take time to recede, the rains are likely to continue for another 24 hours, adding on to the woes of flood stricken towns.