BUTTERWORTH: Hairol Samsudin, 39, returned to work, as usual, yesterday, thinking all was fine after his house in Lahar Yooi in Tasek Gelugor was hit by flash floods on Monday (Sept 16).
Little did he know, his nightmare had just started.
His wife, Noratikah Nasri, 34, called him as soon as he arrived, informing him that their house was flooded yet again. This time, the floodwaters had breached his house. Before this, floodwaters were only confined to his compound.
"When my wife called me, I could think of nothing else except her safety and that of three of our children. I immediately rushed home. By then, the floodwaters had reached my waist level.
"I called out to my wife and children and was glad when they responded. I immediately grabbed our 2- 2-year-old child while my wife held on to our two children, aged 9 and 12, and we all waded to safety.
"This is the fourth flood that we experienced this year and by far the worst," he told the New Straits Times when met at the temporary flood relief centre at SK Lahar Yooi where he and his family sought temporary shelter.
Hairol said they managed to take with them only some important documents.
"We have minimal furnishings at home due to the constant flooding. But my wife is worried that the frozen food she bought for cooking next week will turn bad.
"She supplies food to a school canteen but because of the flash floods, we were left with no choice but to shut off the electricity," he added.
Hairol's family of five were among some 266 victims from 71 families seeking shelter at SK Lahar Yooi.
Housewife Zaharah Abu Hamad, 46, said although the floodwaters only reached her ankle level inside the house, it was waist-deep along the road to her house.
"The situation was dangerous and we had no choice but to seek temporary shelter at SK Lahar Yooi for fear the water level would rise further. Even Sungai Korok and Sungai Jarak surrounding our village overflowed their banks.
"Until this afternoon, we have not returned home to clear the mess. None of us here have returned home," she said when met with her husband and three children, aged 9, 17 and 22.
Mat Sapak Adam, 71, who has a two-hectare farm in Kampung Tok Lalang, Tasek Gelugor where he has sugar cane crops, bananas and coconut trees, said he checked his crops earlier today and found that all had been covered in floodwaters.
He had spent close to RM10,000 to grow the new batch of crops about two months ago.
"This is by far the worst flooding. I could hardly see my crops, only a sea of water. All I hope is for some assistance for new seedlings," he said.
At Kampung Chegar, Mohammad Ismail, 76, and his wife Siti Salmiah Ahmad, also in her 70s, remained at home despite the floodwaters that reached just below their waist.
"We are fine here and have enough of food to eat. We hope everything will return to normal soon," he added.
Meanwhile, the number of flood victims in Penang has reached 623 people who are housed in 11 temporary flood relief centres in Seberang Prai Utara (SPU), Seberang Prai Tengah (SPT) and Seberang Prai Selatan (SPS) districts on mainland Penang.
SPU recorded the highest number of flood victims at 430 from 115 families, SPT (125 people from 32 families) and SPS (68 victims from 25 families).
As at 3pm, several areas in SPU still experienced strong winds and heavy rain.