Many still on high alert for possible second wave of floods

KOTA TINGGI, 11 Jan — Keadaan di Bandar Kota Tinggi kembali seperti biasa selepas banjir surut ketika tinjauan hari ini. — fotoBERNAMA (2024) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

KOTA TINGGI: Although the flood situation has improved here, many residents are still on high alert and worried that a second wave will soon hit again.

Kampung Sungai Telor resident Rousmani A. Suffian, who has been putting up at a temporary relief centre (PPS) for more than 10 days in Kota Tinggi, one of the worst-hit districts in Johor, said the floods were worse this time round compared with last year.

“In 2023, the water from the river near my house spilled over and inundated my husband’s plantation, but it did not enter our house.

“This time, the water level rose quite fast overnight and flooded our home. The murky waters were at my waist level before rising to about 1.8m,” the 68-year-old said when interviewed by The Star.

The retired policewoman added that the murky waters even exceeded the wall switches in her house.

“My family moved larger electrical items, such as the washing machine and refrigerator, onto our dining table. However, they were all damaged in the floods, along with our cupboards and wardrobes.

“We have spent about three days cleaning the house and discarding the damaged items but the stench from the murky waters is still there.

“All the items and our home wiring will have to be replaced, and that takes a lot of time and money,” she added.

Rousmani said she and her husband will still spend their nights at the PPS until the authorities give them the green light to return home.

Another retiree, Bakemah Jaiman, 63, said her house in Kampung Gembut was hit by floods twice, in just the first three months of last year.

“Less than a week after I returned home after the first wave of floods, I had to once again pack my things and move to another PPS.

“By then, my daughter and I had already started cleaning and even replaced some of the furniture that were destroyed in the flood,” she said when met at the SK Gembut PPS.

The mother of six said that while her village was often hit by floods, no one expected it to hit twice, in just a short period of time last year.

“That is why we are still on high alert even though the floods this time have started to recede. However, we cannot heave a sigh of relief yet as it may happen again for the second time,” she said.

Sharing the same sentiment is Hasbullah Mohd Ali, 49, who said his family’s livelihood is affected each time there are floods.

“I have been suffering from gout and high blood pressure since six years ago, making it very difficult for me to work. My wife is the sole breadwinner of the family.

“She plants vegetables such as long beans and okra, and sells them to wholesalers to raise our family.

“Unfortunately, every time we get hit by the floods, all of her hard work goes to waste. The vegetables are unable to survive being submerged in water for too long.

“As such, we will just leave a few bags of clothes on standby, just in case we have to evacuate to the PPS again when another wave of floods comes,” he said.

Housewife Too Myok Hwa, 62, hopes that she has seen the end of the floods this year as she wants to prepare her house for Chinese New Year, which will be celebrated in less than a month.

“Flooding is tiring as a lot of time and energy goes into post-floods clean-up. Although we cannot control the weather, I really hope that there will not be another wave of floods.

“It usually takes more than a week to properly deep clean and scrub the mud and residue left by the floodwaters.

“I will also be sanitising the house to get rid of the odour in time for the festive season,” she said, adding that she has been experiencing floods for about 20 years.

In Johor, a total of 1,025 victims were housed at 10 PPS as at 3pm yesterday.

Kota Tinggi has been the worst-hit district for weeks up until Saturday.

The flood situation here has improved over the past few days and there were only 210 flood victims seeking shelter at PPS as at 3pm yesterday.

Mersing now has the most evacuees with 606 victims, followed by Kota Tinggi. Other affected districts are Kluang (98), Segamat (88) and Batu Pahat (23).