Flood situation in northern Malaysia worsens

A group of children play with flood waters in front of their house near Rantau Panjang district of Kelantan state, 400 km north-east of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 21, 2014. [Photo/IC]

KUALA LUMPUR -- The flood situation in several northern Malaysian states worsened during the last two days with 69,549 victims housed at relief centers so far, reports reaching here said on Friday.

In the northern state of Kelantan, the number of flood victims in nine districts increased slightly to 34,955. According to the state government's flood portal, water level readings in several rivers continued to increase.

In Terengganu state, the number of victims rose again to 29,082 on Thursday night. According to the Terengganu National Security Council (MKN) portal, Kemaman was still the hardest hit district with 19,311 victims.

Meanwhile, the number of flood victims housed at the relief centers in the northern Perak State rose to over 4,000. According to official sources, all the victims were housed at 47 flood relief centers.

The authorities are taking urgent measures, including opening more relief centers to house more victims, to deal with the worsening flood situation in the northern states.