Sea-like: east coast victims share gruelling experience of devastating floods

KUALA LUMPUR – The non-stop torrential rain caused by the northeast monsoon has caused massive floods to hit the east coast of the peninsula, with tens of thousands of families affected and multitudes forced to evacuate from their homes.

Among the worst hit areas is the district of Besut in Terengganu, where folk were completely cut off due to overspilling from Sg Besut, which flows into the South China Sea.

The main roads from Kuala Terengganu and Kelantan into the district were impassable as the Public Works Department announced that water had risen to between 0.3m and 1.8m in height.

Describing how water levels had even reached chest-high, teacher Ruzlina Akma Janah, a local born in Kg Balik Bukit near Jerteh town, said this was the worst flood that has ever hit the district in the past twenty years.

“The rain had begun around Saturday afternoon and did not let up well into Sunday. I was already worried even on Saturday evening itself. 

“By 4am on Sunday, my husband saw that water had reached the porch of the house. He managed to re-park the car at the Al-Faqeh Mosque, which is located at an elevation higher than our house.

“By 6am, water had reached into the house, and we quickly evacuated everyone, including my bedridden mother,” she said.

Ruzlina, a teacher from Rawang, had come back to her mother’s house on Saturday due to the school holidays, and was also looking forward to attending a wedding in town.

Despite the floods and the damage that they had wrought on her mother’s house, especially on the furniture, she expresses gratitude that she had managed to come home from Rawang that weekend and was able to help her mother escape the floods.

“I think it was fated that we returned home on the weekend. On Sunday morning, when the water had breached into the house, we managed to evacuate my mother safely.

“Around 6am, we put her on a stretcher and slowly waded through knee-high water to get to my relative’s home a few doors away, which is located on a higher elevation,” said Ruzlina.

She added that her three sons, husband, and helpful neighbours were the ones who successfully evacuated her mother safely.

Ruzlina also described the water level on Sg Besut as appearing similar to that of the sea, with many roads being closed by local authorities due to the floods.

Another resident, Nor Aida Ariffin, said the severity of the floods caught her by surprise as her home is located on a hill, near the Besut hospital.

“Water levels at my home were thigh-high. All of my furniture, except my fridge which we placed above our kitchen cabinet, was saved. Our beds, chairs, and sofas were all damaged.

“This particular area has never faced floods this severe,” she said.

As of yesterday morning, Terengganu recorded the greatest number of flood victims, with 37,792 people from 10,401 families affected.

The Fire and Rescue Department also reported that there were 5,492 flood evacuees in Besut yesterday, which were among the largest groups relocated by the floods. – The Vibes, December 21, 2022