7 Families Seek Safer Homes After Spending Months As Flood Evacuees

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Seven families comprising 32 people were the first group of flood victims in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, to be evacuated this morning. (Bernama pic)
PASIR MAS: Fed up with seeking shelter at relief centres every time there are floods, seven families in Rantau Panjang have asked the Kelantan government to quickly help them move to safer areas.
Mek Yam Ahmad, 81, said she has been dealing with floods for more than two decades, but was now much older and tired of going to and fro between her home and the relief centre.
“We have been told that we will be assisted in moving to another area last year but there have been no developments so far.
“I really can’t live in a centre as I’m so old but we have no other options,” she said at the SK Gual To’ Deh shelter here today.
Mek Yam, who lives with her youngest child, said her home and those of her six children were located at a low-lying area in Kampung Bendang Perol, Rantau Panjang.
She said they were always the first to be evacuated and last to return home every time the area is flooded. Their families frequently suffer losses as all furniture and appliances would be damaged by the floods, she said.
“We had built attics to store the items but, one time, the floods were so high it reached the roof, so everything couldn’t be saved,” she added.
Fellow resident Kamarudin Setapa, 56, said he had been repeatedly forced to replace every electrical appliance in his home after the floods subsided, including an engine used to pump water to the house.
“I have no other place to go except to live on the property my father left me. That’s why I’m asking the state government to expedite the assistance (to relocate),” he said.
The seven families comprising 32 people were the first group of residents in Pasir Mas to be evacuated this morning. Their village was hit by floods at least 1.5m-deep.
Checks by Bernama found several villages in low-lying areas near Sungai Golok still flooded, including Kampung Terusan, Kampung Lanchang, Kampung Gual To’Deh and Kampung Perol.
The floods were around 0.5m-deep and residents were seen making preparations, including moving their vehicles and livestock to higher ground. - FMT

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