Massive search and rescue (SAR) operations are being carried out in the state of Selangor in Malaysia after a landslide buried a campsite in the early hours of 16 December 2022
The tragedy occurred at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite in Batang Kali in Hulu Selangor district. Malaysia’s fire service said a slope as high as a 30-story building collapsed onto the campsite.
As of the afternoon of 16 December, Malaysia’s Ministry of Local Government Development reported a total of 94 people were at the campsite when the landslide struck. Sixty-one people were rescued alive. Sixteen fatalities have been confirmed, while SAR operations are looking for a further 17 people thought to be missing.
The cause of the landslide is not yet clear. Heavy rain has affected wide areas of Peninsular Malaysia, with flooding reported in Selangor in late November.
According to figures from Malaysia’s Department of Irrigation and Drainage, the weather station at Batang Kali recorded 15.5 mm of rain on 10 December; 15.5 mm on 11 December; 23.5 mm on 12 December; 0.5 mm on 13 December; 13.0 mm on 14 December and 0.0 mm on 15 December.
Floods in Peninsular Malaysia
Parts of Peninsular Malaysia have seen flooding since late November. As of 01 December, 315 people were displaced in Perak and 186 in Selangor.
Local media reported fire and rescue department rescued 45 students and staff trapped in a school building after floods in Seremban in the state of Negeri Sembilan on 08 December 2022.
Flooding affected the states of Pahang and Perak on 07 December, prompting 216 people to evacuate.
Further heavy rain caused flooding in the states of Kelantan (1,503 evacuated), Terengganu (627), Pahang (536), Johor (27) and Perak (194).
Floods in Riau Islands, Indonesia
Disaster authorities in Indonesia reported flooding in parts of the Riau Islands, Indonesia, on 14 December 2022. As much as 171 mm of rain fell in 24 hours from 14 to 15 December in Terempa. Around 1,117 people were affected and 220 homes were damaged in Natuna Regency. In Kepulauan Meranti Regency, 3,195 people and 639 homes were affected.
