Schools closed by flooding in Malaysia

Schools closed by flooding in Malaysia

PEKAN, Malaysia (AP): Heavy flooding from monsoon rains kept
more than 11,000 students out of classes on Monday as schools
shut indefinitely in an eastern Malaysian state.

The closure meant an extended holiday break for students and
teachers of some 45 schools, mostly near the worst-hit town of
Pekan, in Pahang state, 450 kilometers east of Kuala Lumpur.

The death toll from the floods in Pahang climbed to four with
the drowning on Sunday of a 17-year-old student who was fishing.

Rescuers continued their search for two men feared drowned in
the village of Nensai, near Pekan, the Bernama news agency
reported.

The La Nina weather phenomenon has intensified Malaysia's
seasonal monsoon rains, which occur from November to February.

More than 2,500 residents from districts around Pahang state
evacuated their homes Monday, joining some 2,200 other flood
victims who fled on Sunday to relief centers at mosques, churches
and community halls, the national news agency, Bernama, said.

Hastily packed suitcases and clothing littered the floor of a
prison outside Pekan where 44 families had camped out since the
weekend, sleeping on a gymnasium floor.

Many of the 260 people in the cramped gymnasium said their
homes were devastated by the shoulder-high floods that they
called the worst in years.

"All I could save was my important documents. Everything else
was ruined," said Jabariah Binti Ludin, an accountant, who along
with her infant and 70-year-old mother, was rescued from their
village by soldiers in a boat.

Health Minister Chua Jui Meng urged rescuers in Pahang to
evacuate women in advanced stages of pregnancy to hospitals or
other safe places.
Chua said 162 medical teams had been sent to Pahang. Flooding has
cut power supplies in many areas, forcing 17 medical clinics to
close.

State government health workers were barred from taking time
off to help out at overburdened clinics, he said.

In low-lying villages near Pekan and the nearby coastal city
of Kuantan, residents paddled through the submerged streets in
small boats.

Many roads were accessible only by heavy vehicles. But water
levels in some areas showed signs of improvement, dropping to 2
feet from weekend depths of nearly 2.4 meters.

In the Kelantan state, just north of Pahang, flood waters had
receded and water levels in major rivers dropped below the alert
mark.

Almost all schools in Kelantan reopened on Monday after having
shut down for a day over the weekend. Students in the mostly
Muslim state attend classes on Sunday.