Crocodiles menace flood victims

2007-12-13 12:07

Kuala Lumpur - Crocodiles are becoming a menace in flood-hit southern Malaysia, reports said on Thursday, as the death toll from the floods rose to 12 and authorities struggled to cope with 19 000 evacuees.

The New Straits Times reported that some villages in Johor state, which lies next to Singapore, are living in fear of crocodiles who had been seen feasting on dead chickens dumped by poultry farms.

The death toll from the floods jumped from seven the day before, with new victims including a three-year-old Indonesian girl in central Pahang state whose body was found trapped under a tree trunk, the Bernama news agency said.

A 15-year-old boy also drowned in northern Kelantan state while playing in floodwaters in front of his house, the state agency said.

Government agencies are now trying to overcome food shortage problems facing some 19 000 forced to flee their homes, the state news agency said.

"Our focus is on how to get aid to the flood victims," Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal said.

He also urged traders not to take advantage of the floods by increasing the prices of goods that are in short supply.

Monsoon rains continued to pound the country, and a meteorological official told AFP they had issued an orange warning, its second-highest alert, for parts of Pahang and Johor until Friday.

Last December, major floods in Johor left more than 110 000 people displaced in a disaster that caused at least 1.5 billion ringgit ($451m) in damages.

- AFP