First flood in 14 years catches residents by surprise

Flood waters rose in Parit Sulong kampungs after six hours of non-stop rain. (Bernama pic)

BATU PAHAT: Having gone 14 years without experiencing any floods, 43 families around Kampung Parit Gantong and Kampung Parit Pulai, Parit Sulong, were stricken with anxiety when their homes were inundated yesterday.

When the flood waters began to rise at about 11am yesterday following six hours of non-stop downpour, they were clearly not prepared.

Rouzahana Maslan, 52, said the last time that residents in the area were affected by a flood was in 2006 when a major flood hit Johor.

She said the heavy rain started at 5am, and the flood caused some damage to her furniture and the bread and kuih-making equipment. Rouzahana is a entrepreneur dealing with bread and kuih.

“The flood water rose very quickly. I did not have time to save the equipment and could only watch them submerge under water,” she lamented when met at her home in Kampung Parit Pulai here today.

Another resident Nurul Alisya Abdul Malik, 20, said she did not expect the six-hour downpour to flood her father’s home in Kampung Parit Pulai.

The 20-year-old, who is a college student, said she was taking an online test at 9am when the house was flooded. “I did not realise that the flood water had risen so swiftly. I thought the flood would only come up to our front yard and subside a few hours later, as always.

“I was shocked that just when I finished my test, I saw our kitchen was flooded. This is the second time I’ve faced such a flood. The first time was in 2006, when I was just six years’ old,” she said. - FMT