Baling floods: Bodies of pregnant woman, mum-in-law found hugging
UPDATED 4PM | Added Fire Department’s comments on the discovery of the victims.
Three relatives who went missing after their village in Baling, Kedah, was hit by a flood yesterday evening have been found dead.
According to Baling district police chief Shamsudin Mamat, authorities found the victims' bodies at 9.32am and 11.30am this morning.
"I can confirm that the victims' bodies have been found. They are...
UPDATED 4PM | Added Fire Department’s comments on the discovery of the victims.
Three relatives who went missing after their village in Baling, Kedah, was hit by a flood yesterday evening have been found dead.
According to Baling district police chief Shamsudin Mamat, authorities found the victims' bodies at 9.32am and 11.30am this morning.
"I can confirm that the victims' bodies have been found. They are a woman aged 53, her daughter-in-law aged 23, and the elderly woman’s son aged 14.
"Bodies of the two women were the first found by a search-and-rescue party at 9.32am, while the teenager was found two hours later not far away," he told Malaysiakini when contacted this afternoon.
Kedah Fire and Rescue Department Director Sayani Saidon said Nurul Anis Abu Hassan, who was four months pregnant, was found hugging her mother-in-law Salmah Mat Akib.
They were found under a pile of wood debris in Kampung Iboi, about 100 metres from their home, Harian Metro quoted him as saying.
There were no visible injuries found on their bodies, the daily reported.
The teenager was identified as Khairul Ikhwan Nor Azman.
A photograph captured at the village showed a massive pile of wood debris which smashed into a home in Kampung Iboi, dwarfing a person standing close by.
It was reported that hundreds of villagers in Baling were displaced after floods hit their homes.
Bernama reported that 334 victims from nine villages had been moved to several flood shelters as of 2am today.
Quoting Shamsudin, it said that the flood started at 4pm yesterday and had so far affected 85 houses.
The worst
A 50-year-old villager in Kupang who spoke to the New Straits Times had described the flood as the worst that had happened as far as his memory goes.
"I have been living here all my life, and this is the worst flood ever. Most of the victims had no chance to react because everything happened so quickly," Johari Abdul Latif was quoted as saying.
The Kampung Telok Durian villager said he witnessed how the flood water gushed down Sungai Lata Cetek, with its strong current washing away debris, uprooting trees and mud.
"Everything was normal, but suddenly, the Sungai Lata Cetek current grew very strong and washed down mud into the area. Besides the mud, there were also piles of tree branches swept down from the hill near Lata Cetek."
Seniors climbed rambutan tree, waited an hour for rescue
Senior citizen Hasnah Ismail, 58, recalled how she clung to a palm tree to avoid being swept away by floodwaters after the rambutan tree she and her husband, Che Nai Isa, 59, climbed up fell from the strength of the currents.
“When I saw the rambutan tree almost falling, my husband and I tried to clutch onto the drifting logs, but he missed it and was swept away by flood waters.
“Fortunately, he managed to grab a bamboo pole while I managed to cling to the palm tree. We were in the water for about an hour before the rescue team found us about 8pm,” she told Bernama when met at the temporary relief centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jerai last night.
Recounting her harrowing experience, Hasnah said she tried to scream for help, but no one had heard her, and all she could do was wait until help arrived.
“I thought I was going to die because I did not see anyone coming for us. But I felt grateful as soon as I saw a rescue boat approaching us.
“When we were in the water, the drifting logs hit my back several times. Thank God we are both not injured,” she added.
Like Shamsudin, Hasnah, who has resided in Kampung Padang Empal since childhood, said this was the worst flood she has experienced.
“Normally, if the water rises, it would only be ankle or calf-deep. This was the first time that my house was submerged in the floods until the roof.
“I could not save any of my possessions from my house, including two motorcycles. The cash of about RM2,000 from the sale of goats also washed away by the floodwaters,” she added.
Disabled residents submerged
According to Hasnah, her daughter Nor Alia, 20, who is a person with disabilities, had been rescued earlier by a relative.
“He carried my child, although the water had risen to neck level. Alhamdulillah, both of them are safe,” she said.
Meanwhile, another flood victim, Siti Mariam Abdul Isa, 70, said her husband, who has been partially paralysed for the past nine years, was submerged under water as he was sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
“We were busy moving our belongings to the higher ground, and we forgot about my husband. Upon realising, we quickly took him upstairs,” she said.
Siti Hajar Said, 32, said she was sad as she could not save her belongings and her pet cat and rabbit.
“The rain started at about 4pm and the water began to rise at 5pm. In less than 30 minutes, the water reached the roof level.
“All six houses located near the river were submerged in the floods,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Ahmad, in a statement, said he had ordered the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to coordinate assistance with the Kedah state government to assist those affected by the flood.
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