Keep your children safe in the floods

PICTURE this: Children using the porch of a house in Dungun, Terengganu, as a diving platform, jumping into the high water caused by the floods that are ravaging the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

They were photographed having fun playing in the murky, muddy waters, oblivious to the possible dangers.

It is a common sight to see floodwaters turned into “water theme parks” and children playing on makeshift boats and swimming.

Yes, Malaysians are, by now, accustomed to floods, but that doesn’t mean we can take them lightly. As the police have said, floods are not water festivals or free swimming pools.

Yet, for some parents, floods really are like a celebration, with some actually taking their small children to play in floodwaters – the activity is common enough to even have a name, “main bah” (playing in the flood).

Talk about endangering your child! Even adults have difficulty wading through seemingly shallow water which has hidden currents, what more for children.

That’s the thing with floodwaters: they can be deceptive.

You think your child will be fine splashing around on the edges of a shallow pool of water, but the solid earth he or she is standing on could be undermined by unseen currents and collapse, tipping the child into deeper water.

Playing around the house seems safe? Three sisters were in the vicinity of their house in Tumpat, Kelantan, when they were electrocuted and died on Dec 19. Words could never allay what their parents must be going through, we can only offer our deepest condolences.

We don’t want any more such deaths. And with the school holidays still on, it is children who are at high risk right now.

Talk to them about the dangers of playing in floodwaters, about hidden currents, about sudden swells and rises in water levels caused by surges, about dangerous reptiles displaced by the floods that are frightened and more than ready to bite. Then there are the waterborne diseases and the danger of electrocution.

But telling children not to do something doesn’t always work, so parents, keep an eagle eye on your kids anywhere near floods (and definitely don’t take them on a trip to play in floodwaters!).

With another week left of the school holidays, you might be thinking of taking your children for outdoor recreational activities – do take heed of the authorities’ warnings and advisories before doing so this monsoon season when tragedies like the landslide in Batang Kali, Selangor, can happen.