BUKIT MERTAJAM: Victims of last night's flash flooding here claim that a broken bund at a nearby river was the cause of the inundation of their homes.
Lorry driver Sharizam Abu Othman, 37, said they experienced a continuous downpour since 4pm, but it stopped about half an hour before the breaking of fast at dusk.
"Nothing happened while we were having our meal, but suddenly, the situation turned a bit chaotic outside, with people starting to move their vehicles away as flood waters were coming in.
"The water rose up to just below our knee level last night. It may be due to the broken bund because the flood waters rose drastically and the situation got worse quickly too," he said when met at the temporary flood relief centre at SJKC True Light here, today.
His wife, Ku Fauzana Halim, 34, said that a similar flood happened in 2016, also due to the broken bund.
"But we are glad this was not as bad as the last one, where the flood waters were up to our waist," said the mother of three.
As of 9am today, with the flood waters having subsided, only 96 people from 22 families are still housed at SJKC True Light.
Meanwhile, 32 people from nine families are still housed at the temporary flood relief centre at SK Juru.
Checks at both relief centres found that only two cubicles were set up in classrooms to ensure social distancing between the families amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
The state Health Department has also deployed its health personnel to screen the victims for the disease.
The personnel have been extra cautious in handling the victims to avoid any chance of spreading the virus.
Numerous locations on the mainland reportedly experienced flash floods after heavy rain yesterday evening.
The state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) has outlined the Mak Mandin Flood Mitigation Project and Parit 4 Flood Mitigation Project to tackle the chronic flooding problems in the areas.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said that both temporary flood relief were closed by 2pm today.
"Everyone has returned to their homes," he added.
