Couple Hang On For Dear Life As Waters Rise In Baling

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A total of 334 flood victims from nine villages in Baling, Kedah, were evacuated to several relief centres last night. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: An elderly couple was swept away by floodwaters in Baling, Kedah, last night but managed to save themselves by hanging on to an areca palm tree and bamboo branches.
Hasnah Ismail, 58, said she and her husband, Che Nai Isa, 59, noticed that the floodwaters were rising quickly and entering their house.
They decided to climb a rambutan tree nearby.
“However, the rambutan tree looked like it was going to topple, so we tried to latch on to some logs adrift in the water,” Hasnah told Bernama at a relief centre.
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“My husband was swept away by the strong currents. Luckily, he managed to grab some bamboo branches.
“I was also swept away but managed to grab hold of the trunk of an areca palm tree.”
She said they shouted for help but no one came. However, about an hour later, a rescue team appeared in a boat and plucked them to safety.
“I thought I was going to die as the water was so cold,” she said.
Hasnah, who had been staying in Kampung Padang Empal since she was young, said she had never experienced such flooding before.
She said the floodwaters reached the roof of her house and she was worried about the 30 goats they had been rearing.
She was thankful that her 20-year-old daughter, Nor Alia, who is disabled, had been moved to higher ground earlier.
Earlier, three members of a family, including a four-month pregnant woman, were reported missing after their house was swept away by floods at Kampung Iboi in Kupang.
A total of 334 victims from nine villages had been evacuated to several relief centres following heavy rain yesterday. - FMT

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