SEGAMAT: A mother is still traumatised after her youngest son was almost swept away by strong currents while wading through floodwaters to save himself on March 1.
M. Kalaivani, 46, said that in the 5.30am incident, she woke up to find that floodwaters had entered her home situated in Kampung Baru Chaah, here, and had reached knee-level.
"My eldest son said his friend told him that floodwaters had started to rise in Pekan Chaah. When we opened the door, the water was already at waist level, so we decided to head to the nearby school," she said when met at her home, here.
Kalaivani added that although the school was not far from the house, the strong currents made it difficult for them to get there, and her 8-year-old son who was almost swept away by the currents managed to climb over the school fence to safety since the entrance was too far away.
"At that time, no help was to be found because the town had turned into an 'island' and was inaccessible. We sat on the third floor of the school until 8pm, at which point we were rescued," she said.
The mother of four, who has lived in the house since birth, said she had never experienced such severe flooding before.
"It is sad that many of our belongings, including two motorcycles and a new set of furniture bought for the last Deepavali celebration, could not be salvaged."
The flood that struck Pekan Chaah on March 1 led to the deaths of two elderly people in Jalan Kongsai, Chaah, who were found by the authorities after the water receded, three days ago.
Meanwhile, a check in the areas found that many vehicles were stranded due to the flooding.
The fence of the Chaah police station was badly damaged and covered in debris.
Also badly affected was the Chaah Health Clinic, where many health workers and volunteers were spotted cleaning patient chairs and other equipment that were covered in mud.
Machap Jaya assemblyman Ngwe Hee Sem was also seen on the ground helping Chaah residents by cleaning their homes, as well as assisting clinic staff. -- Bernama