Malaysian Emergency Services, Volunteers to Rescue 21,000 from Flooding

On Sunday, the 21,000 people displaced by flooding were rescued by the Malaysian emergency services reinforced by the civilian volunteers, officials and volunteers mentioned.

More than 66,000 police, army and fire department personnel were mobilized to help the people from vehicles marooned in flood waters or from inundated streets outside their homes.

State news agency Bernama reported that a total of 21,000 people had been evacuated nationwide to relief centres. As rescue operations continued, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob earlier told reporters in Selangor, Malaysia's wealthiest and most populous state and one of the hardest hit, that 15,000 people there had been evacuated to more than 100 relief centres, Reuters reported.

After reading pleas on Twitter posts from those trapped by floodwaters, rescue volunteer Mohamad Adib Hariz Fadzilah rushed to a camping supplies store to buy kayaks and life jackets while also sending out requests for help via social media.

"I learned that some of the (emergency services) people were also buying supplies from here. It was shocking to me that they too didn't have enough equipment," he said.

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