Heavy rain? Flood? Are you worried about the damages to your house and car? Should you buy insurance?

The recent incidences of heavy downpour in Malaysia have raised some serious questions. From having your home ruined, your car damaged, or even facing loss of lives, the recent floods have reminded us of the scale of destruction floods bring.

Before we jump into buying floating houses, let’s first take a look at some statistics – Which states in Malaysia had the highest flood damages in 2021?

This article utilizes the latest flood impact report published by DOSM in January 2022. The financial impact of flooding will be taken as an indicator of how vulnerable your home state is to financial losses incurred by flooding.

#1: Selangor

In 2021, Selangor suffered a total of RM3.1 billion in losses, making it the #1 most vulnerable state to flooding damages in 2021.

Selangor houses the highest population of Malaysians at 6.6 million, where floods have the potential to reach more people. Hence, house damages losses due to the flood rank the highest in Selangor, totaling RM1.0 billion. Damages to manufacturing properties rank in second at RM0.89 billion, while vehicles damages comes next at RM0.86 billion.

In Selangor itself, the districts of Klang, Petaling, and Hulu Langat were the most heavily affected, comprising RM2.7billion total in losses. If you are living in these districts, you should really consider buying flood insurance for your house, car, and business.

#2: Pahang

Pahang is the second the most vulnerable Malaysian state, logging in a loss of RM593 million in 2021.

If you own a home in Pahang, you should practice caution and seriously consider flood insurance as housing losses are the highest by far at RM426 million. Flood losses to business premises, vehicles, and manufacturing amounted to RM167 million.

Specifically, in Pahang, housing losses were highest in Kuantan at RM197.4 million, followed by Temerloh (RM95.1 million), Bentong (RM59.9 million), Pekan (RM32.5 million), and Maran (RM10.0 million).

Kuantan has been heavily affected as it is the capital city of Pahang, and is located near Sungai Kuantan and has the highest amounts of housing at 155,512 units.

#3: Malacca

Malacca comes in at number 3, registering a loss of RM85 million in 2021.

Flood losses in Malacca had a similar trend to Pahang in that housing losses far exceeded other category losses at RM70 million or 82% of total losses. Once again, if you are a homeowner in Malacca, you need to prioritise house insurance for floods.

By location in Malacca, Malacca Tengah, which houses the capital city, Malacca City, suffered the highest housing losses at RM60.8 million. This was followed by Alor Gajah (RM6.9 million) and Jasin (RM2.0 million).

Malacca Tengah has the highest amount of houses at 176,200 units, and also the highest population at 568,300.

#4: Negeri Sembilan

Coming in at number 4, Negeri Sembilan registered a total flood loss of RM77 million. Similarly, housing losses were at the top with RM46 million or 59% of total loss, followed by vehicles (RM18 million), and business premises (RM12 million). Housing insurance to floods takes priority here also.

By location, Jelebu had the highest housing losses at RM12.9 million, followed by Port Dickson (RM11.8 million), Seremban (RM9.3 million), and Tampin (RM6.6 million).

Seremban in this regard is the most heavily populated area with 224,657 units of housing but surprisingly has less flood damage when compared to Jelebu and Port Dickson which have 63,475 housing units.

#5: Johor

In 2021, Johor suffered RM50 million in flood damages, with housing loss leading the way again at RM19.9 million, followed by vehicles (RM16.4 million) and business premises (RM13.8 million).

If you recall, Johor suffered from two major floods in 2006 and 2011. The total loss is relatively low considering this wasn’t just about one flood.

An interesting difference from the other states in this list, flood losses in Johor were well-distributed across categories, with housing encompassing 40%, followed by vehicles (33%) and business premises (28%). Hence, people living in Johor would need to take note that they might need to buy various types of insurance compared to the other states.

By location, Segamat was the most flood-prone area, registering a loss of RM24.6 million. followed by Tangkak (RM9.6 million), Muar (RM6.9 million), and Mersing (RM3.8 million).

#6: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, coming in at number 6, registered RM32 million in flood losses in 2021, with housing losses once again topping the list at RM22.4 million, followed by vehicles (RM6.1 million) and business premises (RM3.8 million).

It’s surprising that Kuala Lumpur is this low on the list considering the occurrence of severe flash floods in the city and the sheer population density.

One of the reason that could explain why Kuala Lumpur did not have that high of a flood loss, might be due to the fact that Kuala Lumpur consist mostly of high rise apartments, allowing some reprieve from fast rising floodwaters. In 2019, high rise properties (including serviced apartments) encompasses 56% of total properties in Kuala Lumpur, higher than the national average of 19%.

#7: Kelantan

Kelantan comes in at number 7, registering a total flood loss of RM22.0 million in 2021. Housing loss is the highest at RM16.0 million, followed by business premises (RM4.5 million) and vehicles (RM1.5 million).

It’s even more surprising that Kelantan is only at #7, considering that the state frequently battles severe floods due to its exposure to the monsoons. Possible reasons for the lower losses could be the case that Kelantanese are well prepared for floods as compared to the other states.

By location, housing losses were highest in the district of Pasir Mas at RM9.8 million, followed by Gua Musang (RM2.7 million), Kuala Krai (RM1.2 million), and Tumpat (RM1.2 million).

Conclusion

Floods are a natural disaster. While we never know for sure when and where floods may hit, history gives us some clues as to where the vulnerable areas are. Do use the data above to influence your considerations over what kind of insurance you ought to get for your home, vehicles, and businesses.

 

How has insurance helped you with flood damage? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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