HULU YAM BARU, Dec 16 — A man is sitting on the floor of a temporary shelter set up on the grounds of the district police station here, stroking the head of his young child. He looks dazed and found it hard to speak.
He had a close brush with death very early this morning when the ground under him suddenly moved.
Outside the shelter were three other victims of the landslide in Batang Kali, Selangor that took place between 1am and 2am.
One of them gave his name as Knug Thang, a 31-year-old worker from Myanmar.
Looking shellshocked, he recounted the nightmare to Malay Mail this afternoon.
He and his 12 housemates were sleeping when they were startled into wakefulness and managed to scramble out of their home and to safety without injury. One man, however, suffered a leg injury and now sports a bandage.
“The house and everything in it is gone,” he said.
According to Knug Thang, there were two waves of earth and water that destroyed the house they were living in.
“This is the first time I experienced something like this,” the farmer said, adding that he was still feeling afraid.
The only thing he was certain of was that his boss would be coming to pick him from the temporary shelter here at 4pm today.
Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Aiman Athirah Sabu arrived at 12.35pm, accompanied by several officials including a counsellor, and quickly moved into action.
Moving around the temporary shelter, she exchanged a few words with the landslide survivors as well as those on duty caring for them.
“I will ensure that our welfare team, especially from Ulu Selangor, will be on duty and are prepared to help the victims,” she told reporters here briefly.
She said her ministry will ensure the survivors receive food, drink, mats and other essential items.
She noted that some of the survivors were still under trauma due to worry over missing family members.
The National Disaster Management Agency had earlier announced that a landslide had occured at a campsite near the Father’s Organic Farm in Batang Kali, on the alternative road to Genting Highlands, Pahang near Gohtong Jaya.
The latest official information from the Ministry of Development and Government at 1pm put the total casualties at 94 people, with 16 reported dead and 61 safe.
Searchers are still looking for 17 people.
