Pet cats first to be saved by flood victim

SEGAMAT, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- A total of 12 pet cats in a cage outside the house became the first 'prized possessions' saved by Faridah Idris, 50, after realising that the flood waters started rising around her house in Kampung Paya Merah Lama, Labis, here, last Tuesday.

In the incident, the residence of Faridah and her husband Ahad Musa, 52, was among the worst affected after being flooded up to waist level.

"It was around after dawn, I noticed the water rising very quickly after continuous rain overnight. In my mind, I just wanted to save my cats first.

"When the incident happened, my husband was not at home because he was sending our son back to Batu Pahat. I was not very well, so I immediately asked my other child to help me move these cats onto my husband's lorry. Alhamdulillah, all the cats are safe," Faridah told Bernama while cleaning her residence, here, recently.

However, the family is upset when almost half of their 60 chickens went missing due to the flood.

"All of our chickens are kept in cages. But the strong flood currents caused two cages to be damaged. In such a chaotic situation, it is difficult to save everything especially when some of them flew off. 

"We raised these chickens for ourselves and not for trading. As it happens, recently many of them have hatched. I guess they are not meant to be for us, all the chicken eggs have drifted away and the remaining ones are spoiled," she said.

Faridah, who runs a small eatery, said that her village was always hit by floods considering it was in a  low-lying area, but the problem of clogged drains made this flood one of the worst.

"Many of the drains here are clogged with tree branches and palm leaves. So, I hope the local authorities can help clean them, otherwise, the villagers will suffer," she said.

-- BERNAMA