Man builds floating cabin to save household items during floods

 

Zahari Lambak built the cabin using plastic barrels, iron and zinc sheets for his mother. (Bernama pic)

KUANTAN: Inspired by floating fish cages, a 55-year-old Temerloh man built a floating cabin to store and protect his family’s valuable items during the severe floods that struck Pahang recently.

Zahari Lambak built the cabin for his mother Mek Jah Omar, 77, who lives in Kampung Gantuk, Temerloh, about 120km from here.

It looks like a raft house, and was built with iron and zinc sheets supported on plastic barrels.

He said the experience of facing the devastating floods in 2014 made him look for ways to save his mother’s belongings from being destroyed by the floods again.

“All the electrical items in my mother’s house were destroyed in 2014. So, I tried to find the best way to safeguard her belongings should the same situation occur again.

“I was really inspired and got the idea after seeing fish cages made using blue plastic barrels so I decided to build a floating cabin at my mother’s house,” he told Bernama.

He said he spent about RM1,000 and completed the 112sq ft floating cabin in just four days.

“For me, building it was not difficult, it just requires patience. I bought all the items myself such as blue plastic barrels, iron and zinc for the roofing,” he said.

To ensure the cabin was not swept away by strong currents, he tied it to a tree.

Zahari said the cabin was really useful this time around as all the valuable household items were saved when the floodwaters rose up to three metres in the village.

“When the water started to rise, my brother and mother managed to transfer the washing machine, television and other valuable items into the cabin. Thankfully, the items were saved from the floodwaters.

“The flood situation this time was really unexpected and the cabin has been very useful,” he added. - FMT