KUANTAN, Dec 1 — Residents of Sungai Lembing faced an anxious moment when continuous heavy rain early this morning caused their small town to be inundated by up to two metres of flood waters, starting at 6am today.
Restaurant operator Chua Chan Mum, 50, said that the water rose sharply as he was preparing to start his business, causing him to decide to put all tables and chairs together to prevent them from being swept away by the current.
He said the heavy rain started around 2am, but subsided about an hour and a half later, causing him to leave home as usual at 5am to go to his shop which is located about one kilometre away in Kampung Seberang.
“I am thankful because water did not enter the store. The atmosphere around was quite chaotic because the traders adjacent to my restaurant were busy moving goods in preparation if the water level rises further.
“Fortunately, the water started to recede slowly around 8am. However, many people decided not to do run business today because they were worried that the water will rise again as the weather was still cloudy apart from having to clean up their shops,” he told Bernama here today.
Chua, who is also a volunteer firefighter, said the flash flood information was disseminated on the WhatsApp and WeChat groups to warn the villagers as they were worried that it would be a ‘sign’ of the beginning of the flood season this year.
As a native of Sungai Lembing, Chua said that the village has been hit by floods every monsoon season and is usually the earliest location in this district to be flooded.
Meanwhile, Kampung Melayu Sungai Lembing Development and Security Committee (JKKK) chairman Muhammad Ridzal Sukimi, 45, said several houses and shops had suffered losses because majority of them did not have enough time to move goods to safety as the water rose rapidly.
“Heavy rain occurred while the residents were sleeping causing many to be unaware of the rising water. By the time they woken up, it was a bit late to move goods especially large electrical appliances such as refrigerators.
“This is the first time flood occurred this year, and usually we can expect flood will occur whenever it was raining continuously for several days, compared to this time which it was raining continuously for few hours only,” he said.
Muhammad Ridzal, however, was thankful that the water began to recede, allowing residents to start cleaning their homes, apart from no injuries or loss of life reported. — Bernama
