Unusually high tide wrecks 20 houses in village

PULAU KETAM: Unusually high tide in the morning damaged some 20 homes in Kampung Bagan Sun­gai Lima New Village near here, including the wooden walkways.

Some 1,000 villagers were caught off guard by the tide, which was accompanied by strong winds and waves that struck at 5.30am yesterday.

Kapar MCA chief Datuk Song Kee Chai said more than 10 houses were seriously damaged as water seeped into the homes and ruined the floor and furniture.

“Ten other houses suffered partial damage,” he said after visiting the village here yesterday.

Song, who had rushed to the scene after attending the opening of the Kapar MCA meeting in Klang, said this was the worst incident of high tide in the village.

“It brought about much damage and inconvenience to the residents in getting about. But luckily, the concrete bridges within the village are all right,” he said.

Song said many villagers had to secure the wooden planks to prevent them from floating away.

Kapar Barisan Nasional committee liaison chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah, who was also at the meeting, later handed over an initial donation of RM10,000 for repairs.

Song said he was also in the midst of getting more aid for the villagers.

Pulau Ketam village chief Cha Keng Lee said although high tide was an annual occurrence between the eighth and the ninth month of the lunar calendar, this year’s incident was the worst in many decades.

“The high tide came and went in less than an hour. This year, the water level was 5cm higher than previously,” he said while assuring tourists that the village was safe to visit.