KUCHING: Villagers from Kampung Hulu in Serian are facing the arduous task of cleaning up their homes as floodwaters begin to recede.
Mas Idayah Ismail, 31, was sweeping out muddy water from the living room of her house and removing damaged furniture when met on Monday (Feb 3).
She said her family was unable to save most of the furniture and refrigerator on the ground floor as the flood hit suddenly on Thursday (Jan 30).
"When we came downstairs to check, about six inches (15.2cm) of water had already entered the house.
"We only managed to save some smaller items as we didn't expect the water to rise so quickly," she said.
This was the worst flood in the village since 2015, she added.
Nor Atifah Abdullah spent more than four hours cleaning her kitchen and living room on Monday.
"I'm doing what I can now that the water has started receding," she said.
Many residents from Kampung Hulu, about 64km from here, were evacuated to temporary relief centres when the floods hit.
However, Habib Madini was unable to evacuate because his elderly wheelchair-bound mother could not move on her own.
"We decided to stick it out at home. Rescue personnel came twice but they couldn't manage to move my mother," he said, adding that they lived on the first floor.
