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According to CNN Even by Malaysian standards, this flooding is epic.
Neighborhoods turned into
islands surrounded by a sea of murky brown water. Streets doubling as
rivers. Cars swept away and toppled over.
The flooding has forced more than 132,000 people to evacuate, Malaysia's official Bernama news agency said.
Strong currents and interrupted power supply are adding to the chaos, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told reporters.
"Clean water supply too
cannot be delivered, and flood victims at the temporary relief centers
had to endure darkness without electric supply," he said, according to
Bernama.
The flooding ravaging
Malaysia started more than a week ago. While the region is accustomed to
monsoons, the "northeast monsoon" that has gripped Malaysia, Indonesia
and southern Thailand is particularly harsh.
Here's how it works, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said Saturday:
Strong high pressure
develops over Eastern Europe and China and strengthens northeasterly
winds from the South China Sea, bringing heavier rainfall over Malaysia,
Indonesia and southern Thailand.
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And it's going to get
worse. Another 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain could fall over the
next two days near the Malaysia-Thailand border, he said.
"That leaves open all kinds of possibilities -- more flooding, and the possibility of landslides and mudslides," Van Dam said.
Across the Bay of Bengal, Sri Lanka has been hit hard, too.
Kandy, in the center of
the island nation, received more than twice the average monthly rainfall
in just the past eight days, Van Dam said.
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