RAUB, Jan 7 — A senior citizen and her daughter had to cling to a mangosteen tree for more than 18 hours after the roof of their house near Sungai Kerak, Kuala Gali here, disappeared totally under floodwater.
Recalling the anxious moments, the 74-year-old woman, Razmah Sarip who addressed herself as Wan said the flood rose suddenly and rapidly causing some of the structures of her house to collapse.
“The water rose around 1.30pm last Sunday. Usually after a few hours it will subside, but this time it was different, it got higher and higher.
‘’When the water reached chest level, my daughter took Wan out of the house, we happened to find a small float in front of the house .. we clung to the float before climbing up a mangosteen tree nearby.
“Wan had to endure hunger and cold all night, fortunately security personnel found us on a tree at about 5am,” she said tearfully when met by Bernama at the Temporary Evacuation Centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan Muhammad Jabar here, today.
Her daughter, Rosmawati Rasman, 44, said the house they lived in was one of four houses located near Sungai Kerak and all of them were submerged in water until some of them were destroyed due to floods.
“Our house was destroyed and after this we have to start a new life. Of course, it will be difficult indeed because I only work as a restaurant assistant and my husband works as a rubber tapper.
“Meanwhile, my family and I live in the PPS and when the situation gets back to normal, we may get the help of other family members or those involved to get a house (rebuild the house) to take refuge,” she said.
Apart from Razmah and her daughter, there were four other flood victims who were also forced to take refuge up a tree before the security forces arrived to provide assistance.
Also sharing the anxious moments of being hit by the flood, for Mohd Azlan Syah Jaamat, 47, from Kampung Gali Tengah, the flood this time was a shock for the villagers.
Mohd Azlan Syah, who was currently sheltering at the PPS at the Raub District Kemas Activities Centre, said the floods in the area were the worst in the last 20 years.
He said in just less than 30 minutes, water from a nearby river overflowed and inundated his house to waist level.
“I didn’t have time to save anything, just the clothes on my back. I have been living here for decades, this is the worst flood … our area has never been flooded,” he said.
The victims met also praised the swift and proactive action of the agencies involved in ensuring the welfare and health of the residents at the PPS.
As of 2pm, Pahang recorded 23,105 flood victims from 6,267 families in 278 PPS.
— Bernama
