KUALA LUMPUR: The thunderstorm incident in the Klang Valley yesterday afternoon was caused by the concentration of winds that encouraged the formation of intensive thunderstorm clouds.
Director-General of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said it also contributed to the occurrence of heavy rain exceeding 20 millimetres/hour in the period between 4pm to 6pm.
"The wind concentration factor that contributes to the formation of active clouds is a common weather event experienced by our country.
"High-intensity thunderstorms in a short period can be the cause of flash floods," he told BH.
He was commenting on the heavy rains that caused flash floods in several states.
Yesterday, continuous heavy rain since the afternoon caused six states to be hit by flash floods involving almost 2,000 victims who had to be evacuated to temporary evacuation centres.
The flash floods occurred in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Helmi said MetMalaysia denied the delay in issuing a warning regarding lightning strikes.
He said MetMalaysia had issued a Thunderstorm Warning which expected thunderstorms and heavy rain in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur as early as 1.35pm yesterday.
"Weather Warnings issued by MetMalaysia are constantly updated and disseminated through various mediums including websites, Facebook and Twitter social sites as well as SMS," he said.
MetMalaysia also issued a warning of continuous rain and thunderstorms in several states in the Peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah starting today until Thursday.
