Malaysia's floods drive pleas for climate change action

Last year's widespread destruction, including in urban areas, spurs calls for govt to act

KUALA LUMPUR. The damaged furniture and mud-caked walls left by floodwaters have been replaced or cleaned in Ms 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 Ms 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.

Ms Chong, who lives in a twostorey house with her disabled aunt and retired mother, was among more than 120,000 people displaced by heavy rains and severe flooding in mid-December and early January across Malaysia.

"We knew that it was raining constantly and we expected a flood, but not to that extent," " the 22-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "The doors burst open. Water came in like crazy. All of a sudden it was chest high," said Ms Chong, an administrator for a pharmaceutical company and a part-time student.

Like many South-east Asian nations, Malaysia suffers regular flooding during its annual monsoon season, but such widespread destruction is rare in the country's 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 adverse weather events.