The east coast of the Malaysian peninsular is now experiencing the worst flooding episode for some 40 years. At least 4 people have drowned and several thousand have been evacuated.
The Northeast monsoon season normally brings heavy showers with it, as the winds pick up a lot of moisture on their journey across the South China Sea. The recent rain has been not only heavy but pretty much continuous.
Worst affected are the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. It is normally a wet month with 564mm of rain expected but as much as 309mm of rain was recorded in a 12 hour period – that really is exceptional and I hope it puts things into context.
At least 11 rivers in Kelantan quickly rose above danger levels and most of the state capital, Kota Bahru, is now under one or two metres of water. Shops and houses are flooded as are most of the municipal buildings, including the Police headquarters.
Transport has also been badly affected with numerous roads submerged or blocked by landslides. Rail services have also been disrupted for similar reasons. Further thundery showers are in the forecast but the frequency and intensity of the rainfall should be closer to the norm.
For a much quieter, but still problematic, scene let’s take a look to northern India. The northeast monsoon also affects this part of the world, but here it is a dry wind blowing out of the continental interior.
Kashmir’s major city, Srinagar, lies in the foothills of the Himalayas, and with light winds overnight the people of the city woke up to some very thick fog this morning. Fog is not unusual at this time of year, but today’s fog was so thick that visibility was almost zero and normal life was disrupted. The pace of life slowed to a near standstill, traffic was barely visible and journeys were delayed by hours. The fog may well return in the coming few days.
