Floods in Malaysia cause traffic chaos in Kuala Lumpur, delay parliament sitting

Meteorological authorities have warned of more floods that could blanket Kuala Lumpur and heavy rain in the evening

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Students at schools in Selangor’s Lembah Keramat (left) and Taman Melawati (middle and right) fend for themselves to deal with flooding on October 15, 2024. Photo: X/NewsBFM, OwToTheZie

Published: 1:51pm, 15 Oct 2024Updated: 4:36pm, 15 Oct 2024

Floodwaters in Malaysia’s north reached the rooftops in some places on Monday, as torrential rain also caused traffic and rail chaos across Kuala Lumpur and delayed parliament with lawmakers struggling to travel through waterlogged roads.

Extreme climate conditions have hit Malaysia hard this year as the El Niño weather event that resulted in drought earlier this year was followed by La Niña, which brought higher-than-normal rainfall ahead of the yearly flood season.

The meteorological department on Tuesday warned of more floods that could blanket Kuala Lumpur and heavy rain in the evening.

“The public is advised to be careful of thunderstorms around noon and early evening as it will cause strong winds, flash floods and affect weak structures,” the department said.

Traffic in Kuala Lumpur, which straddles two rivers, snarled throughout the morning as floodwaters filled some roads, while parliament was briefly disrupted as MPs were caught up in the floods en route to the chamber.

Deputy Works Minister Ahmad Maslan said this was the first time a parliamentary sitting has been disrupted by a weather event.

“Due to heavy rain, many MPs were stuck in flash floods,” Ahmad said on X.