BALING: A man featured in a viral video leaping from the window of his flooded house in Kampung Siput said that he had to do so to avoid being late for work.
Corn trader Mohd Sobri Shafie, 47, braved the rising waters to continue his trade at the local market.
"I had to escape through the upper-floor window because the house was inundated with a metre-deep floodwaters.
"The floodwaters were too strong to leave through the door, so I decided to jump out the window, carrying my clothes. That was the only way I could get out to earn a living," he said when met at his house today.
Sobri expressed surprise at the video's virality, recorded by his cousin and racking up over 286,000 views on TikTok.
He said that this was the eighth flood incident since last month and described it as the worst flooding disaster in the village in 50 years.
"The water began to rise at 7pm and continued to increase overnight. I made the decision to leave through the window to avoid being late for work," he said, adding that the floodwaters finally receded after 24 hours.
Sobri's parents, Hamidah Awang, 73, and Mohd Darae Me, 74, who live nearby, had to seek shelter at the SK Siong temporary flood relief centre (PPS).