Floods in Maran likened to tsunami, worst in 20 years, say residents

 

A village in Maran district where the floodwaters have risen to dangerous levels, leaving only building roods and telephone poles exposed. — Picture via Twitter

MARAN, Jan 7 — Residents of Taman Maran Jaya here have equated the devastating floods on Sunday to a tsunami, as their houses were damaged and filled with mud.

Aini Shamsudin, 57, said she never expected the water to rise to the roof level and destroy all her belongings in the one-storey terrace house.

The mother of four said this was the worst case of flooding in her 20 years of living there.

“We are used to floods. Once in seven years there would be a big flood but the water had never reached the roof of the house; this is the first time.

“As I was in my hometown when the floods hit, I tried to rush home on the same day but was stranded because the road was closed. When I got home it seemed like a small tsunami had happened,” she told Bernama today.

Her eldest son Mohammad Hanif Mohd Nazam, 26, said the floods started to recede on Monday afternoon, but the mud-covered house was difficult to clean.

“The mud is thick, as high as my ankles. The cleaning will take time and we are worried that the water will rise again because it is still raining in this area,” said the policeman.

For retiree Mohamad Nasik Deraman, 62, his washing machine was swept away by strong currents for about one kilometre and he only managed to save his car and a motorcycle on the day of the incident.

“The worst flood I experienced was in 2014 when the water rose up to my waist, but this time water reached the roof. We did not expect this at all,” said the 178cm tall Mohammad Hanif.

Taman Maran Jaya, which is home to 1,300 people from 302 families, was among the locations hit by severe floods in the state and a check by Bernama found that residents were cleaning their homes by removing damaged items with the help of colleagues and family. — Bernama