Giant waves lash village and wreak havoc

Helpless: Hazura holding her baby with her husband Zulaimi Mohd, 38, and their children surveying the damage in Kampung Pantai Laut.

DUNGUN: At first there were screams, then loud crumbling noises before huge waves battered village homes in Kampung Pantai Laut.

Villagers at the fishing village in Paka ran from house to house, saving their own and their neighbours belongings as waves washed through their wooden dwelling.

For Hazura Halias, 33, a mother of four, watching the huge waves hit land on Sunday night was the scariest experience of her life.

“It was total chaos,” she said.

The disaster saw half her brick house, two rooms, the kitchen and all the belongings, such as a television set and cupboards, destroyed.

“All we could do was to save our lives,” she said.

“I grabbed my four children and ran to my mother’s house up the road as my husband collected important documents,” she said yesterday.

Besides damaging homes, Hazura said the huge waves – an annual phenomenon – had been adding to the coastal erosion.

“There used to be some 100 families staying here before.

“Within five years the numbers has shrunk, leaving only about 38 families.

“Many of them have moved out as their homes were damaged,” Hazura said.

In Paka, fishermen were unable to go to sea due to the rough conditions and huge waves.

Boats were still berthed at the jetty.

At Mengabang Telipot, the waves caused a partial collpase of one house while a few more were damaged.

The rough sea conditions also caused over 150 holiday makers to be stranded at the Perhentian and Redang islands after boat services from the mainland were suspended.

Besut district police chief Supt Khaled Che Lah said the stranded tourists in Perhentian island had safely made their way back on Monday while hoteliers in Redang island said their affected guests had arrived safely at the Merang Jetty on Tuesday.