1.5m-high water hits Baling, villagers rue constant floods

Villagers who live in the Baling District of Kedah are at a loss whenever it starts to rain nowadays as downpours almost always bring floodwaters into their homes.

Last week, buildings were under almost a metre of water after about two hours of rain, the latest of a series of floods experienced in the area.

A deadly flood in Baling on July 4 killed three people, including a pregnant woman.

Villagers said the rain last Friday (Oct 28) caused floods at houses across the Baling and Sik districts, including at Lubuk Temulung, Kampung Belimbing, Bendang Tebal, Kampung Jerai and Kampung Setol.

Another villager, who wanted to be known as Ramly, 48, from Kampung Belimbing, said he is worried for his elderly parents as they could not predict when the floods would occur.

“I am worried for my parents’ safety as both of them are alone in the house.

“I rush to my family home whenever it rains now as I am living with my wife and children about five minutes away.

“Last Friday, I rushed to check on my parents when it rained as the area started to witness flash floods,” he said.

Ramly said there was water a metre high when he reached the house and he acted quickly to rearrange some household goods, locked up, and took his parents, both aged 67, to his house.

“This was not the case before July 4. It had rained before this, but the situation has been different after the July floods.

“I want to make sure that my elderly parents are safe and I am thinking about what to do for the safety of my parents permanently,” the self-employed businessperson added.

He said the family suffered huge losses due to the floods on July 4, as almost all of their electrical goods were damaged after being submerged in the 1.5m-high water in his parents’ house.

Water speedily gushing in

Another villager, who wanted to be known Suhaimi, 60, said his house in Lubuk Temulung in Baling was in 1.5m-high water after the heavy downpour last Friday.

He said the water rapidly rose up to their waists and his family members were unable to move some household goods which were left on the ground.

“The furniture was in the water and we put the furniture under the sun to dry. However, the wooden furniture warped after several hours in the water.

“We used to move the furniture to a higher ground but this time we were unable to do that as we had gone out during the rain,” said the retired civil servant.

A video of the incident that has gone viral on social media showed water pouring into windows to entirely inundate the ground floor of a home.

The villagers have not had any respite after the July 4 floods that damaged more than 1,000 houses in Baling.

On Sept 14, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor announced that the floods there resulted in losses estimated at RM28 million.

Sanusi said the losses included the destruction of houses, other premises and infrastructure, as well as damage to vehicles.

The floods in Baling at the time were blamed on a Musang King durian farm at Gunung Inas, where land clearing was carried out on the hills.

A geological study into the cause of the July floods showed that unusual rain, coupled with the deforestation of Gunung Inas, led to the disasters.

The study recommended that villagers living downstream of Sungai Kupang be evacuated, as more flooding there was expected in the coming months.

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