BENTONG: A gloomy atmosphere shrouds Kampung Sungai Perdak near Karak here after the traditional Chinese settlement turned into a ghost town following the devastating floods last month, forcing its 70-odd occupants to move elsewhere.
In the past, the villagers would mark the Chinese New Year celebrations by decorating the streets with iconic red lanterns, playing festive music, loud fireworks lighting up the skies and there would be a massive movement of people. There was no such atmosphere this year.
The Dec 18 floods left the village deserted as the wooden houses located on both sides of Jalan Karak-Manchis suffered severe damage with the doors, windows and walls swept away by floodwaters while some premises were still filled with mud and debris. The homes are not fit to be re-occupied.
The village had 28 families but currently, they have chosen to move elsewhere to stay with their children and relatives while occasionally returning to the settlement to collect aid dropped by volunteers, and getting updates on their home's repair status.
Farmer See Kam Heng, who was among two people who were busy cleaning their homes in the village, said he will be taking his parents who were in their 80s to celebrate Chinese New Year with his siblings in Kuala Lumpur.
The 55-year-old said the house still required a lot of cleaning and repair works as he had only managed to repaint the interior using paint sponsored by donors.
"My family was looking forward to the traditional reunion dinner in the village as we could not meet last year due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions. Sadly, my eight siblings and their children will not have a chance to return here and instead we will meet in Kuala Lumpur.
"My parents have been living here for more than 30 years and they have never left the house during Chinese New Year...this year will be the first time we will have to lock the house. I will resume cleaning and painting work after the festive holidays," said See, who is the eldest of nine siblings.
The father-of-one said floods were nothing unusual in the village as it was located near the river but last year's incident was like a "tsunami" which left many people homeless.
Meanwhile, his neighbour Liang Ah Ha, 75, said the massive floods resulted in a complete change in the village and he remains unsure if his neighbours and friends will return to re-occupy their homes.
The father-of-six said every year during Chinese New Year, the narrow streets in the village will be packed to the brim with people, especially youths returning from outstation to visit their elderly parents.
"Red lanterns will be put up along with other decorations but this year has been quiet. You can see there is no one around or vehicle movements... there used to be a sundry shop and a food stall where the villagers would often meet but both were damaged in the floods.
"I have decided to stay back to clean and repair the house... leaving the house unoccupied for too long might allow strangers to enter. I now occupy one of the rooms in the house and buy meals from the restaurant in the nearby town," he said, adding some volunteers gave him Lunar New Year decorations but he was unsure where to hang it.
Liang said he has experienced floods more than 10 times in the village and usually the water will be around 1.5 metres high but this time it submerged the entire house.
"Previously, when our homes were hit by floods, all the villagers would go to the Sungai Perdak community hall and wait until the water receded but this time even the hall was also under-water. The floodwater swept along pieces of wood and debris which damaged the homes.," he said, adding that some sections of his kitchen roof collapsed during the floods.
Meanwhile, Liang said See and himself were fortunate that the structure of their homes was not
affected during the floods so they could still do some minor repairs to temporarily occupy them, unlike the others including some Indian
families who had to abandon their homes.
Kampung Sungai Perdak village head Thu Yin Li said the situation in the village was a far cry from how it was in the past and it might take some time before things return to normal.
"The names of the villagers whose homes required repairs have been submitted to the Bentong district office. Damaged homes will be either repaired or maybe the victims will be relocated elsewhere," she said.
Thu said she had initially planned to host a reunion dinner at the community hall for the villagers but was advised by the police to call off her plans for fearing a breach of Covid-19 restrictions or overcrowding.
The floods here on Dec 18 triggered huge water surges in Sungai Kerau in Telemong and Sungai Perdak. Five people died that night.