Skudai floods: Mom climbs onto roof with four children to flee rising water

JOHOR BARU: A mother and her four children, including a four-month-old baby, were forced to climb up the roof of their house in Kampung Laut Batu 10, Skudai, to escape the floodwater following a two-hour heavy downpour on Saturday (Aug 20) afternoon.

Hairul Badariah Zakariah, 39, said climbing onto the roof was the only way she could think of because she was too worried when the water level began to rise rapidly.

"My husband was not at home during the incident, so I climbed up the ladder to bring my children to safety,” she said.

Hairul Badariah’s neighbour, Sulaiman Salleh, 56, described the floods as the worst he had experienced this year.

"While waiting for the fire brigade to arrive, we relocated to the house next door on the hill, but their house was also inundated. We were distraught because the water rose too quickly. We are used to floods, but this time, it was too fast,” he said.

Meanwhile, Skudai Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohamad Riduan Akhyar said it received a distress call at 4.30pm before 12 firefighters were rushed to the scene.

He said 19 victims had been rescued so far and believed that around 15 houses were affected by the floods.

Earlier, several areas in Johor Bahru and Kulai were hit by floods following heavy rain since 2pm.

Johor Civil Defence Force, in a statement, said among the areas affected were Kampung Jaya Sepakat and Taman Aman in Kulai; while in Johor Bahru, Kampung Maju Jaya and Kampung Laut Batu 10, Skudai.- Bernama