More than 90,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as Malaysia was hit by the worst floods in its history.
East coast states, traditionally the target of tengkujuh year-end storms, were the hardest hit, with Kelantan alone accounting for 32,343 evacuees. Terengganu saw 28,991 evacuations, while Pahang saw 24,316.
On the west coast, Perak had 4,335 evacuees, while in the north Perlis had to evacute 265 people. Johor in the south has evacuted 176 from their homes.
In Kelantan, 37 roads have been submerged and rendered impassable to traffic, The Star Online reports.
The Kuala Krai hospital had to operate without electricity, after its local generator ran out of fuel to supply power to the facility.
The hospital’s generator stopped operating at around 5pm on December 24, as flood waters also rushed into the building.
Bernama reports that Dr Adibah Abdullah, a medical officer at the facility, said that an infant being treated at the hospital had to be given manual intubation (application of anaesthesia through tubes into the nose) due to their not being any electricity to power the equipment there.
“Kuala Krai has turned into one big river, and this hospital is one of the islands that are currently holding out in the dark,” she said via a WhatsApp message.
Dr Adibah also related how rescue helicopters flew by the hospital but could not land anywhere or drop any emergency supplies, while amphibious craft from the Fire and Rescue Department visited the facility, but could not evacuate all the patients and staff.
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