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What happened, where and when?
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) stated on 3 November 2022 that the northeast monsoon period would begin on 7 November, earlier than expected, and continue until March next year. MetMalaysia stated that an active La Nina weather pattern and a phenomenon known as negative Indian Ocean Dipole will lead to heavy rains. The continuous rains would also cause rivers to rise to dangerous water levels and will increase the potential for major floods.
Heavy rains caused flash floods in three states on 9 December 2022. Not only that, from 17 to 20 December, heavy rain had been reported in many areas across multiple states. On 18 December, the rain started to cause bigger floods in Terengganu and Kelantan, causing over 20,000 people to evacuate. As of 21 December morning, a total of 71,503 people have been evacuated in 439 temporary shelters that are currently active in five states (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, and Perak), and five people reported dead. Kelantan and Terengganu are the most affected states at present time with total 71,180 people evacuated.
Overall, the Malaysian Meteorological Office earlier declared that four to six episodes of heavy rain are expected during the monsoon season. It also warned of possible confluence of floods with the king tide, increasing the risk of a bigger flood between these dates: 22 to 26 December 2022, 6 to 10 January 2023, and 21 to 25 January 2023.
The government has alerted the population for these additional waves of floods and to prepare accordingly.