Some choose to stay put despite high water levels
PASIR MAS: Seven families in Meranti here are staying put in their village despite floodwaters having risen as high as two metres around their houses.
The head of one family, Nasir Ahmad, 63, said they have been living in Kampung Siput for decades and the floods had not risen up to the second floor of the double-storey house.
He said they had stocked up enough food and other essential items to feed all the family members - he and his wife, five children and two grandchildren.
“Even though the village gets flooded often, I am convinced that we can hold out. If the situation worsens, I have a boat with which we can get to a safer place.
“My house is four metres high and the floodwaters will never reach that height,” said the exnavy man.
Meanwhile, Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department director Nazili Mahmood, who had accompanied Bernama on a check at the village, advised all residents in the flood-hit areas to move out immediately.
“The residents must move out when the situation is not that serious because doing so later will be difficult with the higher level of floodwaters and swift current,” he said.
He also said that the rescue operation would take time, especially it it had to be executed at night, and the village was at least two kilometres away from a safe place and was surrounded by trees and undergrowth. — Bernama