YAN – It was the worst disaster in living memory for thousands of villagers here and in adjoining Gurun and Kuala Muda, when floodwaters gushed from Gunung Jerai to their villages, washing away household items and cars and submerging rooftops.
The waters also brought down mud silt and debris including broken tree trunks, affecting the community of mostly farmers and blue-collar workers, around 5pm yesterday.
One of the worst hit villages was Kg Perigi located at the foothill of Gunung Jerai.
More than 300 houses in the village were completely flooded for several hours before the waters eventually subsided, leaving mud and debris in their wake.
Azmah Omar, 61, who lives near the Perigi waterfall close to Gunung Jerai, described the incident as the most terrifying experience in her lifetime.
She was with her daughter Amizah Ismail, 26, when the rain started to pour heavily at 3pm and floodwaters began to rush down the mountain by 5pm.
Scenes of devastation the day after heavy floods and landslides hit Gunung Jerai and its foothill areas, as recorded by The Vibes reporter Arulldas Sinnappan while surveying the affected sites today. pic.twitter.com/vuWh5SzoaU
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) August 19, 2021
The rushing waters, she said, were accompanied by what she described as “loud booming” sounds.
“Before long, debris started floating into our houses and the water began to rise. Thankfully, we managed to escape and get to higher ground.”
The gushing floodwaters also damaged hundreds of houses and buildings in the small town of Yan Kechil.
Among the buildings damaged are the district police headquarters, district office, and district council complex.
Abdul Rahim Awang, 58, who runs a food stall nearby, said that he had never seen such heavy rainfall in his life.
He said excessive rainfall could have been the reason for the natural disaster.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) August 19, 2021
Rahim said he did not believe that the floodwaters could have been triggered by excessive logging at the mountain.
“It was the overflow at Sg Perigi that caused the flooding.”
A homestay owner at the foothills said that his electrical appliances, furniture, and decorative items were damaged by the floods.
Meanwhile, more than 100 houses at Taman Lembah at Merbok in the Kuala Muda district, on the other side of Gunung Jerai, were inundated by floodwaters.
Residents said the floodwaters remained for about three hours, destroying their households and electrical appliances.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) August 19, 2021
Army personnel from Battalion 19 of the Royal Malay Regiment from Sg Petani came to clear the mud and debris that washed into the house of Jamil Manan, 39, who is also from the battalion.
Abdul Rashid Ibrahim, 49, of Taman Lembah said that water rushed in so quickly that his family was unable to save any household items and important documents.
“All were damaged,” he said.
Kedah’s civil defence spokesman Azhar Ahmad said that as of now, only three people are confirmed to have died, while four are listed as missing.
Azhar said 35 villages were affected in total, involving hundreds of inhabitants in the districts of Yan, Kuala Muda, and Gurun, with 87 families being relocated.
It is learnt that some of the flood victims are Covid-19 patients currently under self-quarantine.
They were asked to wear their masks and maintain physical distancing during the evacuation drive. – The Vibes, August 19, 2021
