There are several states in Malaysia that were battered by floods that were described as the most serious in 50 years. The floods emerged after heavy and continuous rainfall for over five hours starting at 6 pm on Dec 18. The severity of the flooding took the residents of the affected areas by surprise and they are still reeling from the shock of losing their possessions in a blink. The Government of Malaysia estimates that the losses due to the flood was about RM15bilion.
Homes were swept away by the floodwaters and some houses only had their roofs left. Some dwellings are now tilted and cannot be inhabited while others have been totally “demolished”. In addition, the floods killed at least 48 people and prompted calls for the government to improve its preparedness to extreme weather events.
Even if the floods did not take place in the vicinity of the port, building on its social corporate responsibility, Johor Port Authority (JPA) together with Johor Port Berhad (JPB) and Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) worked in partnership with Malaysia’s Southern Gateway Volunteers, to provide flood relief to affected families in Sepang/ Dengkil. Volunteers from the ports have reached out to provide food aid, basic necessities, house cleaning and moral support to the flood victims.