FLOODS STRIKE AGAIN IN TANAH MERAH, MACHANG, KUALA KRAI, DEVASTATING RECOVERY EFFORTS

KOTA BHARU, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- Having just begun to rebuild their lives, flood victims in Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, and Machang are once again facing the devastating impact of flooding.

Efforts to heal the wounds from the first wave of floods have not yet subsided, and now it has turned into a nightmare as all three districts have been hit by floods again, sweeping away all their hard work.

A resident of Kampung Batu 9, Batang Merbau in Tanah Merah, Suhardi Aziz, 50, said he was facing floods for the third time this year in his area, following the first and second waves of floods that recently occurred.

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"Heavy rain since last night caused the water level to rise rapidly, and I only had time to save a few important documents. I can only stare in disbelief because the household items damaged in the recent floods have not fully recovered, and now the water entered the house again.

"The marks of mud from the previous floods are still visible, and now cleaning the mud seems pointless," he told Bernama today.

A flood victim from Kampung Tengah, Machang, Yaseer Abdullah, 45, said his house has been submerged since 9 am today, with heavy rain continuing nonstop.

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"Every time there is heavy rain, my heart skips a beat. I was just starting to recover, but now the water has risen again to waist level. All my efforts to clean the house have been in vain.

"All the items I tried to save before are now submerged again, but I will not give up and will continue to soldier on," he said.

Another victim in Kampung Keroh, Kuala Krai, Nik Sofia Nuranis Nik Ismail, 27, said her house was flooded to knee height due to heavy rain since last night.

"The heavy rain forced my family and me to clean up and move our belongings to higher ground to prevent them from being swept away, just like the flood that happened recently.

"Many household items were damaged and swept away, but there’s nothing we can do as we are used to these disasters and face floods two to four times a year," she said.

Meanwhile, the heavy rain since this morning also caused a landslide on a hillside that struck the front part of a house in Kampung Nganga, Kuala Krai, although no casualties were reported.

A spokesperson for the Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department said they received a distress call about the incident and found that the landslide had struck the front of the house, the fence, and the vehicle garage at 1.40 pm today.

-- BERNAMA