BUKIT GANTANG: A woman experienced a chilling moment when she had a cobra for company while swimming to save herself from the flash flood in Kampung Senduk Seberang, here, yesterday afternoon.
Faridah Amin, 59, said that she had to swim to a higher place as her house was inundated, and sought the public’s help as she was wheelchair-bound after breaking both legs in a motorcycle accident five years ago.
“The rain was incessant after the Asar prayers, colliding with the high tide from a river resulting in the flood. When I saw the water rising, I had to crawl and ask for help from the villagers.
“While I was swimming, there appeared a cobra that might have come from the garden. Panicked, I quickly swam to safety before being rescued by my neighbour,” she related to Bernama at the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) at the Al-Wusta Mosque here today, adding that there was no time to save her belongings because her own safety was uppermost.
Another evacuee, Maimun Abdul Rahman, 53, said that her house in Kampung Senduk Seberang often experienced floods, but not as bad as this time around.
“In the past, we experienced several floods but only ankle-deep, but this time it reached chest level at four feet,” she said.
Meanwhile, a state Civil Defence Force (APM) spokesperson said that, until now, three of the seven PPS are still open to accommodate 194 evacuees following flash floods that affected some areas in Taiping since yesterday evening.
The PPS are Masjid Al-Wusta, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Matang Gelugur and Kampung Perak surau.
Yesterday, several villages around Bukit Gantang were hit by flash floods, and according to a state Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) spokesperson, the department received a distress call at 5.39 pm and found flood-hit areas with water level at one-and-a-half feet deep, following a heavy downpour. – Bernama