KUALA LUMPUR: The floods that hit the country on Saturday have claimed 27 lives so far, the highest death toll since the last major floods in 2014.
Twenty of the fatalities were reported in Selangor and seven in Pahang
Selangor police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed said 20 individuals were confirmed to have died in the floods in the state as of yesterday afternoon.
The bodies were recovered in Seksyen 25 Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam and in Kajang, Sungai Buloh and Klang.
Nine bodies were recovered by search and rescue teams in Seksyen 25 Taman Sri Muda – the worst hit area in Selangor – from Saturday until yesterday morning.
Selangor fire and rescue department director Norazam Khamis said six of the bodies, comprising five women and a man, were found in several houses, and the other three were recovered around Taman Sri Muda after the flood waters started receding.
In Pahang, there were five fatalities in Bentong and two in Kuantan.
The incidents in Bentong involved water surge cases in two areas – at a resort where one body was found and two people are still missing, and in Telemong, where four bodies were found and one person is still missing.
Twenty-one people died in 2014 when floods struck Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Perak and Johor and 10 others were reported missing.