Floodwater in M’sia turns red, reportedly due to food colouring from chilli sauce factory

Malaysia sees unsettling sea of red floodwater

A video depicting red floodwaters in Malaysia recently viral on TikTok, garnering over a million views within three days.

The video, taken in Kelantan, Malaysia, shows floodwater in a strange red hue, unsettling many netizens.

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The country has been battling with severe flooding the past week due to torrential rainfall, which saw six months’ worth of rainfall within five days.

Chilli sauce factory behind eerie scene

The 10-second video shows the surroundings swallowed by bright red floodwater.

A closer look showed part of the floodwater downstream still appearing normal, indicating that a substance had been mixed in.

Source: TikTok

According to the TikTok user who uploaded the video, the red floodwaters were the result of food colouring leaking from a nearby chilli sauce factory.

As the country’s east coast continues to be hit by disastrous rain, there have been many reports of infrastructural damage, which likely caused the factory’s leakage.

Responding to the viral video, some netizens thought the colouring came from the dye used for batik clothing.

Source: TikTok
Translation: This might be the batik fabric factory where they dip-dye the batik fabrics, that’s why the color runs and the water turns red…

Others joked that the scene was a real-life red sea.