2022 BALING FLOOD VICTIMS DELIGHTED TO RECEIVE KEYS TO NEW HOMES

BALING, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Kampung Iboi villagers who were affected by the 2022 debris flood expressed their happiness after they received the keys to their new homes today following the completion of phase two of the housing construction at Kampung Bok Bak near here.

A recipient, Che Nai Isa, 62, said he and his wife, Che Hasnah Ismail, 61, were eager to move into their new home.

“Previously, I couldn’t wait for the house to be completed every time I passed through the area. Alhamdulillah, today we received the house keys and plan to move in next week. This new house is more comfortable and safer compared to the old one that was always prone to flooding,” he said when met after the handover of keys by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail here today.

Recalling the events of July 4, 2022, Che Nai Isa said that everything happened so fast and that he was seperated from his wife as they were swept away by swift currents.

“I managed to cling on to some bamboo plants while my wife was swept away in the opposite direction and clung onto a beetlenut tree. Luckily we both were rescued.

“My daughter, who has a disability, meanwhile was alone at home when the floods hit, but was saved by family members,” he said, adding that the debris flood caused his house’s kitchen and wall to collapse, making the house unsafe for habitation.

Fellow recipient, Siti Hajar Said, 37, said she and her husband, along with their three children, would move into their new home together.

“We don’t feel safe in our old house in Kampung Padang Empang and our children are still traumatised by what happened. When we got the keys today, I felt very touched and happy. We plan to move our things in soon,” she said, adding that the flooding was still fresh in her mind, even though it happened more than three years ago.

“At first we thought it was a normal flood, but the water rose so fast till it covered the whole house. Thankfully we were able to take shelter at my mother-in-law’s house, which was on higher ground,” she said.

Finally, Siti Roslina Sahak, 46, another recipient, described her new house as being more comfortable and safer, and expressed her gratitude to the state and federal governments as well as those involved in preparing such good accommodation for the flood victims.

A total of 12 families lost their homes, while the homes of another 17 families were affected and listed un the yellow zone during the flooding on July 4, 2022, while a family of three - a disabled senior citizen, their son and his wife, who was four months pregnant - were reportedly killed.

-- BERNAMA