HAT YAI FLOODS: STRANDED M'SIAN LOSES CONTACT WITH WIFE, CHILDREN FOR A WEEK

ALOR SETAR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- A Malaysian man has been left distraught after losing contact for a week with his wife and children, who were stranded by the floods in Hat Yai.

Shahrizal Kamarudin, 43, from Ampang, Selangor, said the last time he managed to contact his wife, Maimuna Asnan, 37, was on Nov 22, when she informed him that she was safely sheltering at Pani House homestay.

“We were supposed to be on holiday from Nov 21 to 24. We arrived at 4 pm on Friday (Nov 21), managed to visit Central Hat Yai and stopped for a meal before returning to the homestay.

“When we arrived at 10 pm (Thai time), the water level along the road in front of the homestay had already started to rise a little. We asked the owner whether the area was safe, and he said if it continued raining the next morning, he would refund us so we could find another hotel,” he told Bernama when contacted.

He said that at 3.30 am, they were awakened by the homestay owner, who told him to move his car to a higher place. He managed to park it about 1.5 kilometres from the homestay.

Shahrizal said unfortunately he could not make his way back to their homestay as the water rose too quickly, but he was informed that his wife and their four children, aged between five and 15, were safe.

“I could no longer contact them because the electricity supply in the homestay area was cut off. On Thursday evening (Nov 27), I received information that they were safe but still unreachable as the homestay area was only accessible by boat,” he said.

Shahrizal said that since being stranded, he had been taking shelter at the Hatyairatprachasun School temporary relief centre.

“I hitched a ride with a local to go out and look for my wife and children. The fire department has also been helping me and they will try to reach the homestay area where my children and wife are still sheltering once the floodwater recedes slightly,” he said.

-- BERNAMA