MARANG, Dec 1 – Still feeling tired from cleaning their homes after the floodwaters subsided last week, hundreds of villagers in Kampung Kijing here were again forced to evacuate when the third wave of floods hit the state yesterday.
One of the victims, Zainab Abu Bakar, in her 70’s, said she had to evacuate to a relief centre for the second time in less than a week.
“Each time, when there’s heavy rain my house will be flooded while the other houses are not affected. This is because my house is located near the monsoon drain and tributary.
“My husband and I are old, we don’t have the energy to keep evacuating when the flood comes. So, if possible we want the government to assist us by providing us with a PPRT (Housing Progamme for the Hardcore Poor) unit,” she said when met at Sekolah Kebangsaan Marang, which has been turned into a flood relief centre.
Zainab said she and her husband, Rani Jusoh, 80, were rescued and evacuated about 5pm yesterday when the flood water in her house compound had reached chest level.
Another evacuee, Cheku Fatimah Cheku Yahya, 41, said most of the family’s furniture would be damaged each time her village was flooded, and this had been going on for years.
“So, we want the state government to deepen the monsoon drain nearby to check flooding in the area,” she said.
A spokesman for the Terengganu Security Council said the number of flood evacuees in Marang had risen to 442 in the evening today from 241 in the morning.
The Dungun district has also been hit by floods, with 42 people evacuated to Sekolah Kebangsaan Tok Kah, Kubang Putat community hall and Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar.
A state Drainage and Irrigation Department spokesman said the water level in all the main rivers in Terenganu were still at the normal level, except for Sungai Nerus at Kampung Bukit where the water level was at 11.9 metres, which was above the alert level (11 metres). – Bernama
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
