SEGAMAT: A Felda settler and her three children narrowly escaped harm when a slope near their home collapsed due to heavy rain last Thursday.
In the incident, which occurred around 2.30pm, the victim, Noor Aishah Othman, 40, and her twin daughters, Yumnah and Yusrah Osnizam, 10, along with her son, Yusuf, 4, rushed to safety after feeling tremors from the ground movement.
Noor Aishah, a second-generation resident of Felda Chemplak, said it was raining heavily at the time, and her husband, Osnizam Othman, 40, was not at home.
"I heard a loud thud that sounded like cannon fire, followed by strong vibrations from the side of the house. At that moment, my three children were watching television in the living room when they suddenly walked towards me just before the noise from the side of the house occurred," she recalled during an interview at Felda Chemplak today (Oct 29).
She added that she felt as if there was divine intervention which compelled her to leave the living room immediately before the slope collapsed.
"I checked the source of the noise and discovered that the slope next to the neighbor's house had collapsed. This caused damage to the living room wall and two bedroom walls in our house," she said.
Meanwhile, the victim's neighbour, retired police officer Jaffar Paiman, 60, said that the Felda Chemplak management is currently investigating the incident after receiving a report.
He noted that the management and contractors have begun repair and reinforcement work on the approximately eight-meter-high slope.
"So far, the situation is under control, but residents at risk have been advised to evacuate until conditions improve," he said.