malaysiangKUANTAN, Jan 3 — Less than two weeks after being struck by floods, residents of Kampung Ulu Sungai in Raub were forced to go through a similar ordeal, when another round of the disaster hit their village on the first day of new year.
Arif Shah Sulaiman, 49, said he had yet finished cleaning his home after the first wave of the floods as he had to help clean his mother’s house, located next door since they were allowed to return home on Dec 26.
“…I didn’t expect that the second wave of floods to hit this soon. I’m still in the midst of drying my household items such as refrigerator.
“The refrigerator may now no longer usable as it had been submerged in floodwaters three times,” he said when contacted by Bernama, here, today.
Arif Shah said the floods that hit in early 2021, and on last Dec 18, were the worst he had ever experienced as the floodwaters had entered his living room, which was built higher than the kitchen.
Although the second wave of floods was not as bad as the previous ones, the father of three said strong currents had caused damage to several parts of his house.
“The situation has forced my family to seek shelter at my mother’s house until the repair work is done. This is the seventh flood incident since I started living in this village 14 years ago.
“I already had the feeling that my house would be hit by another round of floods after two days of non-stop rain and my hunch proved correct when I heard the flood warning siren on the new year’s eve,” he said.
Rashdan Rashid, 50, who moved to the village four years ago, said this was the first time he had to deal with three flood incidents in a year.
“I was at my mother-in-law’s house in Negeri Sembilan when the floods occurred last month and had just return home when the second wave hit,” he said.
Rashdan said he decided to immediately evacuate his family members to his father’s house in Batu Malim, Raub after being told by his friend that the water level in the upstream parts of river had risen.
“I decided to move earlier as I was afraid that continuous rain would cause water to overflow. It would be difficult for us to move if it happens at night,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
