Residents Cry Foul Over Silent Flood Warning Siren

JASIN, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Residents of Kampung Kilang Berapi Merlimau want the flood warning siren maintained and in working condition after claiming that it did not go off during the inundation on Monday.

Mohd Salihin Musa, 35, said he and his wife, Nur Fairus Mohamad Razawi, 37, only realised their home was flooded at about 5 am after the electricity supply was cut off.

As a resident of the village for four years, it was the couple's first encounter with floods, and they only had enough time to take important documents before evacuating.

"At that time, I woke up from sleep and saw that the water had entered into the house (rose) up to the calf level and saw some (household) items floating.

"However, I am grateful we were able to wade through the floods using a car via an adjacent bridge as the main road to the village was cut off," he said when met by reporters here today.

Mohd Salihin said several electrical items in his house, such as a refrigerator and washing machine, were damaged by floodwaters, as they did not have time to move them to higher ground. Other equipment also had to be thrown away because they were spoiled.

"We accept this unexpected incident and hope that the flood problem can be overcome," he said.

Meanwhile, Khairunnisa Abdullah, 59, said she became aware of the flood after neighbours woke her up and told her family to leave the house immediately.

She said they were evacuated to the temporary relief centre (PPS) of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Dang Anum and were only allowed to return home today.

"Syukur Alhamdulillah even though I feel tired cleaning up but fortunately there are many who helped. Thank you for all the help received from various parties," she said.

Ahmad Bahtiar Mohamed, 53, said the flood incident was the first to occur after several years. His car and house were inundated. 

"We had to throw away items such as rubber mats, mattresses and others that were damaged in addition to having to send the car to the workshop to be repaired due to the flood," he said.

-- BERNAMA