KAJANG, School van driver Mohd Zaidi Mohd Arif is so grateful that his van, his only source of income for the family, was not damaged in floods that hit his neighbourhood in Kampung Bangi Tambahan here yesterday.
Mohd Zaidi, 47, said he did not expect the continuous heavy rain, which began at 6 pm yesterday, to result in his house being flooded to the height of the ceiling.
“I, my wife and three children, aged 11 to 17, were asleep when my neighbour rang me up at 2.30 am to alert me to the floods,” he said when met at his village today.
“I saw the floodwaters rising in front of my house so I quickly drove my van to safer ground before returning home to remove our goods and taking my family to safety too.”
He said he and his family have been living in his house since 2003, and they have been affected by floods five times namely three times in 2021 and twice last year.
Another flood victim, Masitah Ghazali, 31, said this is the second time she is facing floods since staying in Taman Idaman Bangi here with her husband and two daughters, aged three and five.
The housewife said she only realised there were floods when a neighbour reached out to her at 5.30 am to tell her that there was flooding in her housing area.
“My family was asleep on the ground floor of the house. When we found out that floodwaters were rising, my husband and I began taking our children and moving several electrical items to the upper floor.
According to her, floods have occurred over the past two years and some parties involved had carried out work to deepen the river which is located a few metres from her residence.
“I have lived in this house since 2020 and a did not expect floods although it has been raining but not non-stop…but there was indeed a feeling of sadness and tiredness, and we pondered how much losses we would incur,” “she said.
Meanwhile, Hulu Langat Zone 4 Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) chief Shahrin Yusmar Mat Yusof when met at the location of the floods at about noon today, said 50 per cent of the over 100 houses in Kampung Bangi Tambahan are still underwater.
He said 15 personnel including two officers from the Tun Hussein Onn, Kajang, Bangi and Semenyih JBPM stations have been deployed to the location since 4.30 am today for rescue and evacuation operations of flood victims.
“As of 9 am (today), the situation is under control and there has been no rain while the level of floodwaters is decreasing. Monitoring as of 12.30 pm today shows all evacuees have been placed at a relief centre in Sekolah Kebangsaan Bangi,” he said.
Shahrin Yusmar said his team stationed personnel at flood locations to monitor and conduct rescue operations if necessary, in addition to distributing food assistance to flood victims.
He added that four boats and four four-wheel drive vehicles were used in the rescue operation of flood victims.
Today, the media reported that about 200 residents in Taman Semenyih Indah and Kampung Bangi Lama, Selangor were evacuated after their houses were affected by floods at about 4.30 am.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
