December 5, 2024
KOTA BHARU – A pregnant woman and her family waded through chest-deep water in a desperate five-hour bid to escape flood waters in their remote village in Kelantan on Nov 27, amid widespread, deadly flooding in Malaysia, the most severe in a decade.
But the worst may not be over for Malaysia as there has been no let-up in the torrential downpour, with the weatherman predicting a second wave of floods from Dec 8 to 14. So far, Malaysia has recorded six deaths, while in southern Thailand, 25 people have lost their lives.
“We were terrified. We were fighting for our lives,” Ms Sharifah Nurul Ayuni Syed Jaffrey, 26, who is three months pregnant with her second child, told The Straits Times.
Referring to her husband Mohamad Iruan Abdullah, 35, and their son Hakim, three, she said: “We realised that the water level was increasing rapidly at around 4pm and quickly grabbed a few things and headed for the flood evacuation centre.”
Their village, Kampung Banggol Merbok, in north-east Kelantan state, is located near a large river, Sungai Golok – which originates in southern Thailand and is called Sungai Kolok by Thais.
“My husband was carrying Hakim and a bag of our clothes and a few personal belongings. As we continued towards the evacuation centre, the water reached our chests,” Ms Sharifah said.
The family has since been sheltering in Gual Tinggi School, just 2km away, but which took them five hours to reach on foot. They have lost nearly everything save for the clothes on their backs.
Similar harrowing tales are recounted by Malaysian media outlets and on social media, after six months’ average of rain fell in just five days across the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Dec 3.
The intensity of the monsoon deluge at its peak on Nov 30 saw more than 142,000 people from more than 42,000 families being evacuated to 713 temporary shelters in nine of 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia.
The number of people evacuated this time is exceeded only by the more than 200,000 people who were displaced in the 2014 floods.
Flood evacuees resting outside a classroom that has become their temporary home. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED/THE STRAITS TIMES
Malaysia’s annual monsoon season typically impacts the states and districts in the north-east – Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and eastern Johor – between November and January.
But the effects of climate change have caused heavy rain in the last few weeks, affecting all 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia and causing chaos in capital city Kuala Lumpur as rivers overflowed their banks.
Kelantan has been the hardest-hit state, with more than 91,000 evacuees, since the heavy rain began more than a week ago. Rivers swollen with rainwater quickly inundated villages in rural areas and even big towns.
A house in Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, that was destroyed by the flood. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED/THE STRAITS TIMES
Meanwhile, officials have said that high tides in the South China Sea have slowed the movement of flood waters draining into the open sea.
Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government expects another wave of floods to hit the country on Dec 8.
“Please keep an eye on the water level and try to evacuate quickly if you feel something is wrong,” he told reporters on Dec 3 during a visit to Gual Tinggi School. “By vacating your homes early, you can help relieve the military’s search and rescue missions to focus on the harder-to-reach areas.”
The evacuation centre where Ms Sharifah’s family took refuge houses more than 100 families. Colourful orange and blue open-topped tents have been set up as temporary homes for the displaced in the classrooms and school canteen, and along the corridors.
At the same shelter, 40-year-old trader Rohani Abdullah told ST that she left her home in a panic with very little – some clothing, jewellery, cash and her mobile phone. She received a phone call from her son at around 11am on Nov 27 while he was at work, warning her that she needed to evacuate immediately, when he heard news of the water level rising.
“Usually during floods, I would have enough time to move my car and motorcycle to higher ground. This time, the water rose so rapidly I didn’t have the time to do anything. It was already too late for my daughter and me to leave the house on our own,” said Ms Rohani.
After calling emergency services, Ms Rohani and her daughter managed to evacuate when the military sent a boat to rescue them from their home in Kampung Seri Rantau, about 7km away from the shelter.
“There were six families on that boat, around 20 people in total. We were worried that the boat might capsize as it wasn’t stable due to the turbulent waters. We were fortunate to reach here safely.” she said.
“However, my family has lost everything. I need to rebuild my business from scratch and replace all the furnishings in my house,” Ms Rohani said, estimating her losses at around RM40,000 (S$12,000).