THE Selangor government had been prepared for the floods but the unusually high precipitation over the 48-hour period disrupted its contingency plans, Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said.

He said state representatives at the district level had already met in November and begun groundwork for the rainy season.

Amirudin, denying that the state had failed to plan for the flood, said Selangor had braced itself for rainfall of between 60-100mm.

“The unexpected downpour in Selangor caught federal and state authorities off guard and unprepared,” he said in a press conference today.

Rainfall in the span of the 48 hours was 400mm, which was higher than the average. Average rainfall for the entire month of November was 250-370mm, while 200-300mm was forecasted for December.

The menteri besar admitted that the unusually high rainfall had caught the state government unawares and coordination was severely lacking in the early stages of the disaster.

“The equipment we had could manage about 100mm rainfall.

“But let’s not play the blame game now. Instead, we should be seeking out and rescuing the victims,” he said while noting that the state was now working with the federal government to provide relief to those who have been affected by the flooding.

Continuous heavy rain resulted in devastating floods in eight states and territories in the peninsula over the weekend – namely Perak, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negri Sembilan.

As of last night, over 61,000 victims had been evacuated to relief centres, with Pahang and Selangor recording the highest number of evacuees.

In Selangor alone 30,632 people have been displaced by the severe flooding. – December 21, 2021.