Flood victims set up tent city as relief centre fills up

 

Flood victims at a village in Batu Pahat have set up tents on higher ground as the nearby relief centre is full. (Bernama pic)

BATU PAHAT: Some residents in Kampung Seri Tanjung here have spent a week in tents on higher ground after their homes were flooded last Saturday.

Juriana Kamari, 46, said that she and her neighbours took the action as a nearby flood relief centre was already full of evacuees.

“We agreed to set up tents at the end of the path that was not flooded because there was no other place to take shelter. We have been living in this tent for almost a week,” she said.

She said they received a lot of help from various parties including non-governmental organisations and convenience store owners. So far everything is sufficient,” she told Bernama today.

To date, 10 tents housing a total of 137 people from 40 families have been set up in the area.

Another resident, Dan Mamajooni, 49, said that despite being registered at the nearby relief centre, he and his family will remain in the tent to keep the house safe and facilitate daily activities because the road to Sri Gading is still flooded.

“Thankfully the police are always patrolling, so we feel safe,” he said, adding that the water and electricity supply in his house were still working as usual.

Batu Pahat District Officer Nasri Mohd Ali said a small number of victims have refused to move to relief centres because they are worried about the safety of their homes. - FMT