KUALA NERUS: A couple had to wade through a 100-metre stretch of floodwater yesterday carrying their Cerebral Palsy (CP) son to escape from their home in Taman Murni Permai which was inundated.
Siti Salwa Amir Burhan, 25, her husband, Muhammad Qayyum Haidar, 24, with their one-year-old son, Muhammad Ibnu Malik, waded through the floodwaters in the rain to get to their car parked on the roadside before driving to the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan ( SK) Tok Jembal here.
Siti Salwa said rain started on Thursday evening causing their house to be inundated with floodwater rising up to 0.3 meters as of 6am Friday.
She only realised that their rented home was flooded at about 6am Friday before immediately packing up and setting aside their household things as the water rose quickly.
"We decided to move as soon as possible because we were worried that the water would continue to rise.
"With our son's health condition, it would have been tough if the water rose higher. Things are already difficult and we can't afford to expose our son to the rain or he will catch a fever. All we could think about was taking our child to a safe place," she said.
Siti Salwa said she did not expect to become a PPS resident for a second time this year.
"Last January, we moved to this PPS when the house was flooded and at that time my son was only five months old.
"This area is often flooded but we thought this time around our house would be safe as last December our home was spared from flood waters.
"Flood preparations have been put in place since last November, only that when the floods strike, we still tend to panic".