PETALING JAYA: The standard operating procedures (SOP) to curb the spread of Covid-19 were swept away during the floods that inundated several states last week.
For flood victims, the priority shifted to escaping the deluge and reaching higher ground as the water level rose.
Recounting his experience on the morning of Dec 19, Muhammad Hisham Idris of Kampung Batu 13 in Puchong said when the water began to flow into his house, he was forced to take his wife and their six children to higher ground to escape the floodwaters.
He said they boarded a lorry with several other people. “We managed to get confirmation that it was still safe to drive on the Damansara-Puchong expressway. So we took that route to head for an evacuation centre,” he told theSun.
They eventually arrived at Sekolah Kebangsaan Alam Megah 3, that had been converted into a temporary relief centre.
Hisyam said when they arrived at the school, hundreds of people were already there.
In the confusion and the rush to book a space at the shelter, most failed to observe the SOP. He said many people did not have their masks on and social distancing was impossible.
But when they registered their names at the entrance, personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) handed out face masks to everyone.
Within the four walls of the school building, the situation was even worse.
“When the essential items arrive, everyone crowded around the table to get their share, leaving no room for social distancing,” Hisyam said.
“I was well aware of the risks of being in such a situation. My first thoughts when we were evacuating were how I could protect my children from Covid-19. My children are still very young and vulnerable.”
Hisyam said he and his family were placed in a classroom with four other families, and each family was given a tent provided by Nadma. That was the only way they could avoid mixing with the crowd.
“Of course, I was worried about Covid-19 but we also had to survive the floods.”
He said officials from Nadma and the Selangor Social Welfare Department later briefed them on the guidelines they had to observe to protect themselves.
However, he said the guidelines were disregarded when food or other essential items arrived.
“Nobody bothered to stand in line. They just grabbed whatever they could for their families, afraid that the food would run out. However, Hisyam said it did not mean that the authorities had failed.
“It’s just that some of the evacuees were greedy and selfish. They just rushed to the table to grab whatever they wanted without bothering to observe the SOP.”
He added the Health Ministry handed out Covid-19 self-test kits when they checked out of the flood relief centre.
“When we decided to return home to clean our house, we were instructed to take the rapid test kit to ensure that we did not have the virus. Praise to God we tested negative,” he added.
As of yesterday, more than 400 evacuees were still at the flood relief centre.
