Truly a muddy chore

Elderly woman, other villagers face added difficulties even as floods subside

Flood victim Asmah Yaakop placing her mud-covered plates and containers in the backyard before washing them. The 68-year-old’s house in Air Putih, Kemaman, Terengganu, was hit by floods on Friday, leaving all her belongings covered with mud. Some 150 houses in her neighbourhood were affected. —

IPOH: For residents affected by floods, their headache continues even after the water recedes.

“I am not strong, but I have to brave myself to save the things in this house and do the clean-up every time there is a flood,” said Siti Aishah Ahmad, 80, who lives in Kampung Sungai Kati in Manjoi.

She lives with her grandson in a village house located by the side of Sungai Kati.

Continuous rainfall the day before caused the worst mud floods at her house since she began living there over 50 years ago.

The mother of four children – all of whom now live in the country’s capital – said her house was flooded by about a metre on Saturday afternoon, and she struggled to move all the furniture and electrical items to a safer place.

“Although I’m used to this problem, the flood this time is the worst because the water rose twice as quickly than normal.

“I hope the government can provide assistance by building a high wall by the river,” she told Bernama yesterday.

She said although the water began to recede early yesterday, she still had to get rid of the debris that flowed into the house from the river area.

Another resident, Abdul Rahim Asri, 42, also appealed for immediate action as his house had been hit by severe floods due to Sungai Pari and Sungai Kati overflowing.

“I worked hard to clean up my house and the surrounding area from the rubbish that flowed in – and then it got flooded again, causing damage to all the three cars,” the lorry driver said.

Meanwhile, a resident of Kampung Titi Tok Aris in Kulim, Kedah, shared a video of her flooded house on Saturday.

The living room was filled with muddy water up to the knees, almost reaching the TV cabinet top.

Noorlelawati Mansor, 36, said it was the worst flood she had experienced in her 11 years living there.

“My family could not save some of our home items such as beds, kitchen utensils and clothes as we did not expect the flood water to rise within that short time,” the homemaker said when contacted.

“We only managed to move the bigger items like the refrigerator, TV, washing machine and motorcycles to higher ground,” said Noorlelawati, who lives with her husband, mother and three children.

She said her family was stressed and sad over the situation, which was exacerbated by the pandemic hampering rescue efforts.

“Thankfully, our neighbours helped out. Some of the villagers stayed at the mosque while my family went to our newly built house outside the village,” she added.

In Gua Musang, Kelantan, Orang Asli from the Batek tribe in Kampung Pasir Linggi built temporary sheds as flood relief centres to prepare for the possibility of floods.

The community started building 50 sheds over the past four days on top of a hill, about a kilometre from their village of 500 residents.

The Tok Batin, or village headman, Mohd Azman Talib said the villagers took the initiative to build the sheds after experiencing severe floods in 2014.

In Kemaman, Terengganu, residents of Kampung Teladas near Air Putih, were back home to clear the mess.

Villager Nurhamiza Mahasan, 31, sought help from her relatives to clean up her house as she was still recovering from minor surgery following a miscarriage on Nov 2.

“When the water rose on Friday morning, I was at home with my husband and four-year-old son.

“Due to the tense situation, I forgot that I was in confinement.

“All I thought of was moving the fridge and other things to a higher area.

“When we arrived at the flood relief centre, only then did I feel the pain. Fortunately, nurses there provided me with first aid and some medication,” Bernama quoted her as saying.