Bodies of three missing relatives in Baling flood found

 

Three relatives who went missing after their village in Baling, Kedah was hit by flood yesterday evening have been found dead.

According to Baling district police chief Shamsudin Mamat, authorities found the victims' bodies at 9.32am and 11.30am this morning.

"I can confirm that the victims' bodies have been found. They are a woman aged 53, her daughter-in-law aged 23, and the elderly's son aged 14.

"Bodies of the two women were the first found by a search-and-rescue party at 9.32am, while the teenager was found two hours later not far away," he told Malaysiakini when contacted this afternoon.

It was reported that hundreds of villagers in Baling were displaced after floods hit their homes.

Bernama reported that 334 victims from nine villages had been moved to several flood shelters as of 2am today.

Quoting Shamsudin, it said that the flood started at 4pm yesterday and had so far affected 85 houses.

The worst

A 50-year-old villager in Kupang who spoke to the New Straits Times had described the flood as the worst that had happened as far as his memory goes.

"I have been living here all my life, and this is the worst flood ever. Most of the victims had no chance to react because everything happened so quickly," Johari Abdul Latif was quoted as saying.

The Kampung Telok Durian villager said he witnessed how the flood water gushed down Sungai Lata Cetek, with its strong current washing away debris, uprooting trees and mud.

"Everything was normal, but suddenly, the Sungai Lata Cetek current grew very strong and washed down mud into the area. Besides the mud, there were also piles of tree branches swept down from the hill near Lata Cetek."

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Ahmad in a statement said he has ordered the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to coordinate assistance with the Kedah state government to assist those affected by the flood. - Mkini