KUANTAN – Coming face to face with a flood situation is nothing new for Suriani Zakaria but last Sunday’s ordeal was slightly different as she was forced to take a boat ride through heavy rain with her three-month-old baby boy when the water level rose above knee level.
What spurred the 33-year-old mother of three to leave and not wait any longer was the presence of snakes displaced by the rising floodwaters, in her house at Kampung Surau Putih, Bukit Setongkol, here.
After having to deal with three flood situations this year, she said as soon as she sensed that floodwaters had risen unexpectedly, she and her family quickly made preparations to relocate by borrowing her brother-in-law’s boat.
“I was in the living room in a panicky state with my children when a snake entered my house. Fortunately, my husband and his friend saw the reptile slithering in the kitchen area and they managed to kill it.
“This is not our first encounter with a snake in the house. About five years ago, we found a python on the steps,” she told Bernama here today.
The Pahang-born housewife said as soon as she managed to collect her important items, she scrambled onto the boat with her husband and three children to head for a safe area about 100 metres away before being taken by car to a relief centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Setongkol.
“It was also already dark and raining heavily, we had no choice but to leave to save ourselves before the floodwaters advanced further endangering our lives especially the children.
“Dealing with the floods is an annual affair for us but this time we have had to deal with floods three times in January, March and last week. We lost almost all of our furniture. Most of them have been rendered useless,” she said.
Meanwhile, her neighbour Anita Mansor, 49 said the safety of her PwD (person with disability) son Mohd Khairuddin Zolkifle, 29, was her main concern when it started to flood last week.
A Malaysian Volunteer Corps Department (RELA) member, Anita said her son has trouble walking after recovering from paralysis due to a road accident in 2012.
“I sent him to his friend’s house in Setali. Soon after, several areas in the town were flooded.
“He is my priority each time it rains. Once he is in safe place, I will start thinking of other belongings that must be salvaged. This time, I managed to return home to collect some clothes. Other items were ruined after floodwaters rose right up to the ceiling,” said the mother of four.
