A cleanup is under way in parts of Malaysia after days of rain-triggered flooding forced thousands from their homes and killed at least four people. Nearly 50,000 people had been affected by the floods as of Monday morning at 8am (00:00 GMT), state news agency Bernama reported.Pictures shared on social media showed belongings and furniture piled on the side of the road as people began cleaning up homes, offices and clinics damaged in the floods.

Police said an elderly couple who drowned were among those who died. In the town of Yong Peng, one of the worst-hit areas, a family waded through brown waters outside their home, with their children using inner tubes as floats. Safiee Hassan, 38, said he and his family managed to save their refrigerator, sofa and some electrical items. “Other things like our bed, mattress, cupboard, are damaged,” he told. “We used to always prepare for the rainy season in November and December,” Mohd Noor Saad, a 57-year-old resident of the town told the Reuters news agency.

“Each household had a boat, but now with the unpredictable weather, it seems that we are not prepared and it’s become chaotic.”An aerial view of a flooded roads and houses in Yong Peng in the south of Malaysia. There are some trees and a few houses visible through the brown flood waters. Floods are not unusual during the annual monsoon season, which usually takes place between November and March, but in recent years Malaysia has endured a series of severe floods, which experts say are the result of over-development, deforestation and the changing climate.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP