PENDANG: Siti Norlaila Ishak, who gave birth to her third child just five days ago, is among the over 2,600 flood victims in Kedah now seeking refuge at flood relief centres.
The 40-year-old housewife, never expected to evacuate her home with her newborn after floodwaters submerged their house in Kampung Banggol Besi, reaching knee-deep levels.
"When the water slowly crept into the house, my only concern was my five-day-old baby girl and my two children with learning disabilities, aged 12 and 5," she said when met today.
Her husband, Rosmadi Sharif, 41, attempted to drain the water, but the surge came too quickly in the early hours of yesterday morning.
"My husband informed the village chief about the situation, and we were then ordered to evacuate.
"With the help of the rescue team, we were moved to the temporary relief centre at the Pendang Rakan Sukan hall in Tanah Merah today."
Norlaila said she was heartbroken to face the flood after giving birth to her daughter, who will be named Nur Qaseh Alfia soon.
She expressed gratitude for being rescued during the flood but remained anxious about returning home, knowing that the area would need cleaning before they could settle back in.
Another victim, Norsuhaila Abdul Halim, 34, shared similar concerns. Despite most of her household items being destroyed by the flood, her focus was on her 50-day-old twin sons.
"My husband and I had to carry our boys, Mishari and Mohamad, on a motorcycle through the floodwaters to reach the relief centre.
"We left yesterday afternoon when the water reached knee level. Although flash floods had hit before, they never entered our house. This time was much worse, "she added.
Six more temporary relief centres have been activated today as flooding worsens in the state.
This brings the total number of operational flood evacuation centres in Kedah to 20, currently housing 2,618 people from 482 families as of 4pm today .