All packed: Khatijah outside the Kampung Tasek community hall in Gemereh, Segamat. — Photo courtesy of Nadma Facebook
SEGAMAT: Khatijah Othman, 75, is really fed up with the floods that have been hitting her village since last year.
So, she decided to bring along her refrigerator, washing machine and other electrical appliances to the flood relief centre at the Kampung Tasek community hall in Gemereh.
She was tired of having to repair or replace the items after floods hit her Kampung Seberang Batu Badak home for the fourth time in little over a year.
The village had been flooded in January, November and December last year before being hit again on Wednesday.
Khatijah carted the bulky items, along with some packages, in a lorry driven by her son.
At the flood relief centre, she was determined to unload all her goods from the lorry and place them in the centre.
However, her request was turned down due to the space limitations as more evacuees are expected to arrive at the place, which is under the control of Rela and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), reported Bernama.
Khatijah’s granddaughter, Siti Balqis Abdullah, 16, who is also housed in the same centre, said her grandmother had grown weary of the incessant flooding.
“Last year during the floods, my grandmother was left with only her clothes when she was evacuated to the flood relief centre. All the appliances at home were damaged.
“She was told to evacuate to the centre on Wednesday morning when flood waters rose after several days of rain. That’s when my grandmother decided to take all her appliances along with her,” said Siti Balqis.
When she saw her items were not at the centre, Khatijah became worried and kept asking Siti Balqis about them.
“I told her that her things were not lost but stored somewhere else,” said Siti Balqis.
Meanwhile, Gemerah 3 village head, Wan Hussein Wan Abas, said Khatijah was among 38 people from 11 families evacuated to the centre that was opened on Tuesday.
“The residents of Kampung Seberang Batu Badak have grown used to the flood situation. After the three floods last year, they voluntarily came to the centre this time, which made it easier for us to help manage them and distribute aid,” he said.
Segamat is one of the worst flood-affected districts in Johor this time around. Based on data from the District Disaster Management Committee, a total of 21 flood relief centres have been opened, housing 1,801 victims from 504 families as of Wednesday night.
