MARANG: Twenty-eight people from eight families in Kampung Wakaf Tapai, here had to be moved to the temporary evacuation centre at Wakaf Tapai Civic Hall from 11pm because their houses were flooded due to incessant rain an hour before that.
The evacuees comprised two families from Kampung Tembak Baru, Pekan Wakaf Tapai and six families from Kampung Lubuk Pandan.
A resident, Roslan Othman, 30, from Kampung Lubuk Pandan said his home started flooding at 8.00 am as the heavy rain did not stop from dawn.
He said in less than two hours the water had risen above the knee level and some kitchen furniture was submerged in water.
“I started packing things to take to the evacuation centre soon after the water entered the kitchen.
“With two small children, aged eight months and three years, many things need to be packed to be taken to the relief centre, it is actually quite difficult,” he told reporters at the Wakaf Tapai centre.
Roslan said, almost every year he and his family had to move to the centre because his house is located in an area which is relatively low compared to other areas in Wakaf Tapai.
Meanwhile, Marang district officer Tun Ahmad Faisal Tun Abd Razak said the flooding in Tapai Wakaf was caused due to the drainage system being clogged with rubbish and soil.
He said the Marang District Council had been tasked with the job of cleaning the drainage system in the area this afternoon.
“We have identified 71 flood-prone zones and every department, namely the Marang District Council, the Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Civil Defence Force will carry out their duties in the event of flooding,” he said when met at the Wakaf Tapai evacuation centre. — Bernama
