Volunteers from Arausza Animal Shelter rescued 100 cats and ten dogs from one of their locations in Selangor that was hit by floods. Since Friday, extreme rainfall has caused floods in eight states in Malaysia, killing 37 people and an unknown number of animals.
After animals died at the location in Selangor in two earlier floods, the shelter installed CCTV cameras to monitor the situation of animals when there are no people around.
“This flood is the third flood. The first time we were caught off-guard, we weren’t there. But thank God, after the first incident, we installed CCTV cameras so at least if there’s heavy rain, we can see movement, we can see the waters,” Juanita Izzudin, volunteer at the shelter, told news agency Reuters. “We don’t want the same mistake to happen.”
When the shelter found out that the government was going to open a dam to release water, they were scared their animals would be stuck in rising waters, so they rented trucks and got the animals out.
“After any flood, animals will tend to experience a lot of problems. They can be exposed to bacteria in flood water, or water can enter their lungs, not to mention the loss of property and damage [at shelters],” Izzudin said, adding that a lot of their dog and cat food was destroyed in the floods.
On Tuesday, Malaysia’s meteorological department warned of more heavy rain in the coming days.
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