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As of Dec. 21, at least 14 people have died and more than 66,000 individuals had to be relocated to relief centres across several states in Malaysia due to the massive floods over the weekend, on Dec. 17 and 18.
The affected states include Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Perak and Kuala Lumpur.
According to the secretary-general of Malaysia's Environment and Water Ministry, Zaini Ujang, the heavy downpour which began on Friday, and continued for 24 hours, was a "once in a 100-year" weather event, Malay Mail reported.
He added that the amount of rainfall within the 24 hours was the same as the average rainfall for a month.
Flooded social media
Several residents in affected areas "flooded" social media shared their experience on social media using the hashtag #DaruratBanjir (Emergency Flooding).
@ksnluvs not enhypen related but please stay safe to my fellow malaysian and feel free to donate any amount to them even RM1 would be so helpful #daruratbanjir ♬ love in the dark - favsoundds
@tyraaaa.__ :) #daruratbanjir ♬ suara asli - sadvibes🥀
@jepppanda #banjir2021 #giant ♬ bunyi asal - ☝️🅙︎🅔︎🅟︎🅟︎ᵖᵃⁿᵈᵃ👆
Several Tiktok videos also showed cats and other pets were being rescued during the flood.
@iainaazhr I’M CRYING HAPPY TEARS. ALHAMDULILLAH KUCING SELAMAT 😭🥺🥺 #ShahAlam #DaruratBanjir #fyp ♬ original sound - aina - vmk
Some were stranded in their vehicles and requested assistance by shining their light.
@sinarharianonline Banyak lagi kejadian seperti ini dan tolonglah segera bertindak demi nyawa mereka #Banjir #DaruratBanjir #ViralNewsTikTok ♬ original sound - Sinar Harian
Others took the chance to do a once-in-a-lifetime photo op.
via Yi Da Ang
Show of solidarity
As the flood wrecked homes and damaged properties, Malaysians showed their solidarity in overcoming the crisis.
For instance, a wedding reception had to be cancelled due to the flood.
Instead of wasting the food, the couple decided to donate all the food from the wedding reception to a flood-relief centre in Klang.
@erinereneMkn lauk kenduri majlis dibatalkan. Mkn dkt pusat memindahan banjir Meru, klang. Tq katering GGH ##banjir ##banjirklang ##merubanjir ##mangsabanjir♬ PENANTIAN ARMADA - sadvibes🥀
A Sikh Gurdwara Sahib at Petaling Jaya, Selangor, also distributed food to those affected by the flood in the Klang Valley area.
People were frustrated
One Tiktok user, @marythehighness vented out her frustrations claiming that the politicians were not doing their job well in preparing for the flood.
@marythehighnessaku dah cukup umur so tak sabar nak mengundi next pru yg lain pon galakkan anak2 & mak bapak undi sebab ini bkn untk mrk tp untuk kita #daruratbanjir♬ original sound - 🦋𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓶🦋
She said that everyone has their responsibilities. As citizens, she said that their job is to work hard and pay taxes to the government. However, in this case, she felt that the government did not do their job well in protecting the citizens.
In another video, a man was heard speaking in Malay, questioning the role of the government in assisting the people.
He said that in his view, the government agencies were "nowhere to be seen" in times of crisis.
He added that even in relief centres, those who were relocated there relied only on food and drinks that were donated to the centre, rather than the government's assistance.
Nonetheless, Malaysia's Senior Minister for Defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, posted several albums on Facebook to share the efforts of the country's military to assist Malaysians from all walks of life.
Top images screenshot via Yi Da Ang and @emylyazlan/Twitter