THE disastrous flood that happened in several part of Peninsula Malaysia had left a trail of devastation on many, with some still reeling from its after effects following the loss of lives and damages caused on properties.
During a visit to Taman Sri Muda, Meghana (not her real name) related her ordeal during the horrifying weekend and the poor response from the authorities.
“I kept calling the Fire and Rescue Department several times but the moment I mention flood, the line gets cut.
“Then when I managed to get someone, I remember a lady telling me that they have already deployed their personnel and I had to wait for my turn to get rescued. Can you imagine that? The water is rising to our necks and yet we were told to wait!” the 43-year-old told FocusM.
Meghana said that she was fearful of the safety of her two children and four nephews, the latter who came to stay at her place over the school holidays.
“It was my brother-in-law and his friends who came to rescue us. They just braved through the cold waters just using big sticks and ropes to hold on to each other.
“They brought huge water tubs and we placed the children inside so as to keep them afloat until we reached safer grounds,” an exasperated Meghana added.
She mentioned that no boats came around to help them and her elderly neighbour had to brave the cold and greasy waters themselves to safety at 3am on Sunday, with their granddaughter carried on top of their shoulders.
She noted the exact time her brother-in-law and friends came to rescue her family; Dec 19th at 4.45am.
Her family then managed to find refuge at a Buddhist temple nearby, with several individuals working hard to provide them with food and shelter, with no authorities in sight.
Meghana added that with little kids around, it was harrowing to get basic supplies to meet their needs during the trying times.
“A lot of people congregated at the Petronas petrol station nearby just to get bread and water. The queue was very long and since electric supply got cut off, the Bangladeshi shop operator had to use the calculator application on his phone to calculate the pricing for the purchases.
“But I consider ourselves the lucky ones as a volunteer turned up in a 4-wheel drive and took my family to our brother in law’s home later on,” she quipped.
After the flood water had receded, Meghana’s family came home, just to experience heartache upon seeing the devastation the flood water had caused to her home.
“All our furniture and electrical appliances in the ground floor are destroyed. My water dispenser, washing machine, wardrobes, cars…. all have been damaged.
“The Government has announced RM1,000 as compensation but is that enough? This is so heart breaking,” Meghana lamented.
Physically tired, mentally frustrated
She then urged the authorities to investigate why the place got flooded so easily, claiming that that part of Taman Sri Muda rarely gets flooded despite heavy downpour in the past.
“We have encountered heavy rain in the past but it never got flooded like this. I suspect something is amiss and the authorities must probe this tragedy.”
On her plans, Meghana said she will not purchase new furniture and electrical appliances for now, given that the Meteorological Department had said that there will be more heavy rain coming until February, given it is the monsoon season.
“I will try to manage things using whatever I have left with for now until the monsoon season ends. To be honest, I’m still cleaning up the mess and it seems like a never-ending work.
“As of now, my brother-in-law’s family is the one who is helping us, bringing us food and other necessities to keep the household running but I’m physically tired and mentally frustrated.
“And this is not the only damage we suffered. My father-in-law runs a printing shop near the market and all his equipment like the photocopy machine are completely destroyed,” she stated.
On related matter, Gunavathy Seenivasan said that after FocusM highlighted her plight on Dec 19, several individuals grouped together to take the residents out from the place to safer grounds.
“The young boys banded together and tried their level best to get all the ones stuck on rooftops to shelter, including ourselves,” she said.
After reaching the shelter, she noticed officers from the Fire and Rescue Department had already arrived but did not go into the flood area.
“I was livid and told them to go to the ground as there were still people stuck on rooftops, including pregnant women and children.
“They just told me that they are waiting for boats to arrive. Imagine that? These young boys banded together and doing their best to help us but the officers were still waiting around,” she retorted, adding that there were helicopters hovering around the area but with little assistance provided.
“I understand Taman Sri Muda is a huge township but our place is near the main road. I remember during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s 100-day event, they showed videos of officers conducting rescue operations, coming down from helicopters using ropes and all. Guess such a thing is only for show,” she added.
Gunavathy,47, also noticed that the authorities left food supplies by the roadside for the victims but questioned the logic of such a decision.
“Why would you want to place the food items at the roadside when people are still stuck on rooftops due to the flood waters?”
Is this a tour area for ministers?
Gunavathy, being an animal lover, was also saddened when she saw many stray dogs and cats taking refuge on top of cars, adding she could not much to help the animals as she herself was in trouble.
After reaching safer ground, she sought refuge at her sister in law’s home and now comes daily to clean up her home, from morning until evening.
She added that her husband, K Ravichandran, a plumbing contractor, had his machinery damaged for good, with their vehicles also destroyed.
Gunavathy estimated that her losses could come between RM100,000 and RM200,000.
“But instead of worrying about our losses, my husband is going around securing food and other basic items for the people living in the neighbourhood.
“Whatever aid we are getting, he is giving it away to those are who are more needy than us,” she mentioned.
Queried on whether she received assistance from the authorities later, Gunavathy joked about several high-ranking officers and ministers made rounds soon after the flood waters had receded to safe levels.
“Why are they here? Is this a tour area? Look. You ministers need not come here. You just sit on your chair and give instructions to the relevant agencies to act on our plight. That’s all.
“On a hindsight, I can’t really blame the Fire and Rescue Department officers because I believe they were waiting for instructions from their higher-ups,” Gunavathy said.
At the end of the day, the accounts executive firmly stated it was the public that got together to save Taman Sri Muda residents.
On how she is coping with the after-effects, Gunavathy said that it would take probably one month to clean up her entire home and they have to put up at their relative’s home for the time being.
“I have lived here for 10 years and this is the first time something like this happened here. Now, I get fidgety even if its rains mildly.
“And I heard it will rain again soon. Truly speaking, I’m scared,” Gunavathy remarked. – Dec 25, 2021
