Urban Malaysia floods drive pleas for climate action

The damaged furniture and mud-caked walls left by floodwaters have now been replaced or cleaned in Elizabeth Chong’s family home, but lost forever are old photos and documents that gave a precious glimpse into her ancestors’ lives.

On the street in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur where

Chong’s family have lived for almost a century residents have coped with regular flooding for decades — but nothing prepared them for the devastation caused by rising waters late last year.

Disasters in 2021 from extreme weather and natural phenomenon such as earthquakes resulted in a global economic loss of $270 billion, according to a March report by the Swiss Re

Institute. Floods alone accounted for 31 per cent of those losses, it noted.

Like many Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia suffers regular flooding during its annual monsoon season but such widespread destruction rarely occurs in the richest states, including the capital and neighbouring Selangor. Urban areas across the region — already struggling to cope with booming populations, rapid urbanisation and crumbling infrastructure — now face heightened threats from climate change-driven storms, heatwaves, floods and forest fires.

Malaysia’s recent floods — some in areas once considered immune to such damage — caused nearly $1.5 billion in losses and were described by government officials as a “once-every100-years” weather event.

But victims say the country’s response to the floods was often slow and inadequate, and green groups are now calling on the government to introduce laws to cut climate changing emissions and boost emergency response and adaptation efforts.

“Floods occur every year somewhere, at some time in the country,” said Salleh Mohd Nor, a former president and senior adviser at the Malaysian Nature Society.

“To say that this (flood) is one-in-100-years is something I doubt ... with climate change the rains will be more frequent and torrential,” he added.

Like many Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia suffers regular flooding during its annual monsoon season but such widespread destruction rarely occurs in the richest states.