Floods: Senior citizen heartbroken over loss of brother and niece

Nancy Tan Poh Har, from Taman Sri Muda, Seksyen 25 in Shah Alam holding back her tears after failing to save her two family members in the floods. (Photo from Sinar Harian)

SHAH ALAM: A 64-year-old flood victim is grief-stricken after losing two family members in the disaster.

Nancy Tan Poh Har, from Taman Sri Muda, Seksyen 25 here, said when floodwaters rose quickly at around 8pm on Saturday (Dec 18), she tried to save her brother Tan Hong Yiap, 76, a heart and diabetes patient.

“I swam towards my brother but unfortunately, I almost drowned and could not get to him in time.

“My 47-year-old niece Karen (Tan Pei Pei) screamed when she saw her father’s body and jumped into the water.

“I went after Karen, who suffered from schizophrenia, and grabbed onto her but she jumped back in the water.

“I managed to grab hold of her again and she fainted suddenly,” she told Sinar Harian when met at the SK Seksyen 19 temporary flood relief centre here on Wednesday (Dec 22).

Tan said she did not remember much after that and the next thing she realised was waking up lying on her kitchen cabinet the next day.

She waded out of the house and to her horror, saw the bodies of her brother and niece floating in the floodwaters.

“I thought I saved my niece. Turns out I did not,” she said while holding back tears.

Tan said she then waited in her house from 8am until 6pm Sunday to be rescued.

Tan said a kayak came by to take her to safety and she reached the relief centre at around 10pm.

“I plan to return to my family in Kuala Lumpur after cleaning up my house and burying my family members.

“Though floods are nothing new in my area, this is the first time I experienced such a terrible flood," said Tan, who has been staying in the area since 1997.

She also advised the public to keep safety jackets at home.