Hit by fire and floods

Staying strong: Haranifas going through family belongings after her home was hit by the floods at Taman Utama in Segamat. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

SEGAMAT: In less than a month, Haranifas Sit and her family faced two tragedies – a fire and a flood.

The 28-year-old tailor said her rented house at Batu 2 in Segamat was engulfed by fire in the wee hours of the morning on Feb 9.

“We were all asleep when the fire broke out. The smoke and acrid smell from the fire woke us up at around 4am.

“We rushed to escape the fire and only managed to save our car, motorcycle and some important documents. The rest of our belongings were all destroyed,” she said in an interview.

Haranifas, who is Cambodian and has been living in Johor for over a decade, said she and her husband were both injured during the fire.

“I suffered burns on my left hand while my husband had similar injuries on his back.

“Thankfully, my eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter were not injured. My 12-year-old niece, who was living with us, also escaped unhurt,” she said.

The family was able to seek shelter in the homes of several relatives in the following weeks before finding another rented house.

“We were able to raise some money and find another house that suited our financial situation.

“Unfortunately, just a week after we moved into our new house at Taman Utama, we were hit by the floods on March 1,” she said.

She said most of their clothes and other goods at the new home were donated by friends, relatives and her children’s teachers.

“Sadly, whatever little goods we had were mostly damaged in the flood,” she said.

Haranifas said the floodwaters rose to about 1.2m on March 1, submerging more than half of her one-storey house.

“My neighbours, who live in a two-storey home that is on higher ground, offered us a place to stay.

“We lived there for two nights while waiting for the floodwaters to recede. I am very grateful to have kind and generous neighbours,” she said.

Haranifas said that although she was devastated, she was still grateful that her children were safe.

“We need to stay strong to face the coming days.”