MUAR: Who wouldn't be heartbroken seeing a home which sheltered and raised nine children for nearly a decade, destroyed by a storm and waves following the high tide at Parit Kedondong Laut beach here on Sunday.
Saemah Marwan, 71, could only recite prayers as she watched part of the stone wall of her house collapse, while the roof was swept away by the strong winds and currents.
However, Saemah was fortunate that her husband, Tumira Mukrin, 72, who has been bedridden since suffering a stroke seven years ago, was not at home. He had been staying at their son's house about 100m away.
"On the day of the incident, my son had accompanied me to Johor Baru for my chemotherapy treatment. I have been battling cervical cancer since last year. When I returned home in the afternoon, I saw that the front part of the house had already collapsed.
"That very night, our house was completely destroyed. I consider myself lucky because a few days earlier, my husband had moved in with our son temporarily.
"When I saw that the house was gone, I remembered the times when my children were small, and that house was where they grew up," she said when met here.
Saemah said many valuable items to be swept into the sea by the currents, and could not be salvaged.
"My son (Mohd Shafie, 37) only managed to save some plates and a few other items. I accept that the other items are gone. There's nothing I can do about it."
Saemah said they had built the house on land owned by the Department of Drainage and Irrigation.
Prior to living in the house, the couple lived on an oil palm plantation in Segamat before moving to Muar, where her husband worked as a fisherman.
"We don't know what to say, the house is gone. We have nowhere else to stay, and no land to build a new house.
"When we first moved here, the waves were still far away, but now they're getting closer. Coastal erosion happens frequently, and when there's a storm, it's something we've had to face repeatedly," she said.
Sungai Balang assemblyman Selamat Takim visited Saemah's home following the disaster.
"The state constituency service centre will assist the family to apply for living assistance and medical treatment," he said.