Malaysia reports 20 drowning cases a month amid heat waves

Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad, the director-general of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, said 162 individuals have drowned so far this year. Most of the victims were under 40 years old and 19 were women, with many drownings occurring in rivers, beaches, and mining areas.

The department is also keeping a close watch on 845 fire hotspots across the nation. The majority of these fires are in Sabah, followed by Pahang, Kelantan, Johor, and Terengganu, as reported by The Star.

Helicopters are deployed to monitor these hotspots and to deliver water to extinguish the flames.

Datuk Nor Hisham also noted that approximately 2,000 bush and forest fires were reported in July alone.

“Between January and Aug. 7, the department received 73,604 incident calls nationwide,” he stated, referencing the combined number of fire and drowning cases, among other incidents, as reported by The Straits Times.