Kampung Batu 9, 10 in Changkat Jong hit by worst floods ever

TELUK INTAN - Floods that hit this district following unpredictable weather, thunderstorms and heavy rain has been described as one of the worst by residents since the water level started rising suddenly.

A resident of Kampung Batu 9, Changkat Jong, Atan Arshad, 63, said that usually the people in the village would be fully prepared for the arrival of the monsoon season every year but did not expect it to come abruptly this time.

According to him, every year the village will experience flooding when the Northeast Monsoon (MTL) arrives with a water levels hovering around 0.6 metres but this time the water level exceeded 1.2 metres.

"At the time of the incident, I had just returned from the shop and when I got to the compound of the house I saw water starting to rise from the back of the house and I immediately went in to save my personal belongings, medical records and grabbed a few pieces of clothing.

"I came out of the house and the water started to turn into a pool and I immediately took the motorcycle out before the situation worsened. I had to leave things such as refrigerator, washing machine, cupboard and so on because there was nothing I could do about them," he said when met at the Padang Tembak Multipurpose Hall which was turned into a Temporary Relief Centre (PPS), near here today.

Norjaamayah Suraji, 50, who lives in Kampung Batu 10, is hoping for a solution and proactive measure by the authorities to reduce the risk of flooding in the village.

"Previously, we were very grateful when the relevant parties had built a bund (fort to hold water) including a water catchment pool, but strangely, this flood is the worst we have experienced.

"We really hope that the flood issue here will be resolved. There are residents who are brave enough to buy new furniture and home furnishings because they are confident that the floods will not be as bad but the opposite has happened," she said.

She said that as a person with a disability (PwD) her movement is quite limited and she feels helpless when there is a flood and appealed to the government to solve the problems.

"I, along with my mother and two daughters, went to the PPS on Oct 23 and returned home last Saturday after the water receded but was relocated back here on Sunday morning.

"If we don't go to PPS, we are worried about our safety as we are exposed to diseases and poisonous animals like snakes. We hope the authorities can help us because this time the flood is bad," she said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Suhairi Suandi, 46, who lives in Jalan Sekolah, Kampung Sungai Kerawai said flood waters will rise and fall at a certain time.

"The water will recede at 8 pm and will rise again at 4 am, sometimes while we are sleeping the water rises to the level of the bed.This incident has been happening for a few days now and it shows no signs of abating, so I decided to move to the PPS," he said.

A spokesman for the Perak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) said in Hilir Perak alone, 183 people from 54 families were relocated to the Padang Tembak Multi-Purpose Hall PPS after floods hit 11 areas in the district as of 4pm today.

The affected areas are Lorong Kedah; Lorong Belakang Klinik; Batu 9 Simpang 3; Batu 10, Batu 7; Lorong Sidang Osman; Batu 9; Lorong Mesra; Batu 8; Lorong Sekolah Kg Sungai Kerawai and Batu 7 1/2. - BERNAMA