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Repair works start on flood-damaged Kg Iboi's Bailey bridge [NSTTV]

BALING: Floods hit Kampung Iboi yesterday and damaged a two-month-old Bailey bridge.

The bridge is now under repair by the Public Works Department with the cooperation of the Armed Forces.

A road had to be closed to enable the removal of debris such as wood and tree roots by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID). The department is also deepening the river using excavators and bulldozers.

Villager Tahar Lah Ahmad, 80, who lives about five metres from Lata Chelak in Sungai Iboi, said yesterday's downpour started at 5pm and strong currrent began affecting the bridge by 7pm.

"The current became stronger and I heard sounds like explosions. I even saw the Bailey bridge moving.

"In less than two minutes, the river bank on the left collapsed and enormous waves came crashing, bringing along debris, onto the road.

"If the river bank did not collapse, the Bailey bridge would have drifted away," he said.

Tahar, better known as Pakchu Teh, said the flood waters only began to recede at 8.30pm.

"I only managed to sleep after 2am.

"In the previous flood (July 4), a shop in front of my house was washed away.

"This time, I am well prepared. I have brought important documents such as land grants to a higher place.

"We have not been living peacefully since the July 4 flood," he said.

The July 4 flood in Baling affected 41 areas and three family members, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman, were killed in the incident.

Another villager, Abdul Rahman Ahmad, 68, said the floods yesterday had damaged his grocery shop near Lata Chelak, which he had reopened two weeks ago.

He said he had been running the shop for over 30 years.

"What happened yesterday made me think that I should leave here because two-metre-high flood waters gushed into my house while it was a metre high at my shop.

"I lost RM300,000 in the July 4 incident. My losses yesterday were minimal and I shifted everything to a higher ground," he said, adding that he was now renting a house and was considering moving out of the area for good.

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