Cerita Banjir: Same story, different year ...

His shift as a security guard at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Serating begins in several hours at 8pm.

Juhan lives in Kampung Alor Tembusu, one of the villages in Merchang located in the district of Marang, Terengganu.

He has lived there for almost 20 years with his wife and seven children. Since a year ago, Juhan has cared for her ailing 74-year-old mother.

“Do come in. Akak (his daughter) will make you a drink, we have guests here,” said Juhan, who was dressed in pelikat sarong and collared T-shirt as he invites us into his home.

“The flood has receded. Tuesday we returned home to clean the thick mud."

A quick look of the house, it was evident that Juhan and his family had laboured hours to clean their wrecked home that was covered with thick mud and rubbish swept by floodwaters.

The only evidence of the flood was the water stain on the wall.

During the peak of the flood, Juhan said water level had increased to his chest and seeped into the main part of the house.

“That morning (Saturday) I was planning to go to Marang. Water had just surpassed the knee and when I returned home two hours later at 8am, the water level had reached the thigh.

“Water was flowing so rapidly from the hills. It was raining, yes, but it was not that heavy. There was no tide, or I would’ve remembered the water level,” said the 47-year-old Juhan.

In the backyard of his house, lies a drain that is connected to Sungai Merchang. Overflowing water from the drain due to continuous heavy rain in the area had flooded the area.

During that time, Juhan and his family members had to spend the night at the evacuation centre at SMK Merchang, one of the three centres, to house over 300 flood victims in the area.

“When water level increased, we had to wait for aides from the Social Welfare Department to ferry my mother to a relief centre.

It was not the first time, Juhan experienced the harrowing ordeal caused by the wrath of Mother Nature.

Just like a vicious cycle, Juhan and his family had to brace themselves to face the flood.

“This area is easily hit by flood. It will flood after the rain even during high tide at the sea also this area will be flooded.

“All household items are totally damaged, this is the issue. Furniture, beds are chucked away in the fire. This is the yearly scenario,” he said, his face turns ashes, his lips trembles.

Juhan readily admits that the flood costs him his savings. Every year, his pittance salary combined with the little that his wife makes every month is exclusively used to fix the damages caused by the flood.

Every year, Juhan spends between RM2,000 and RM3,000 to fix the furniture and the house.

When met by Astro AWANI recently, the flood had receded but the furniture and personal items were still stored at a safe part of the house still need to be tidied.

Juhan said he is concerned if the next wave of flood will strike, yet again.

Each time the lightning strikes, Juhan looks to the sky. The cloud turned grey and heavy clouds started forming. The rain is coming.

“See, it is going to rain again,” he said.

Juhan is not perturbed, the issue will arise at the end of every year.

From his observation, the floodwater hit his area due to the narrow confluence of Sungai Mechang.

“If Sungai Merchang is okay, the high tide will occur for just a short time and will subside almost immediately. The problem is, the water seems to flow very slowly into the sea.

“If possible, I plea for the Social Welfare Department for allocation to fix the drain in this village. Water fails to flow. We can’t afford it. I dug a bit but it is incomplete,” says Juhan.

“Once the monsoon is here, we feel very restless,” he adds.

The lightning strikes again. And with it comes the rain.

In reality, Juhan looks as cool as cucumber. His feelings aren’t explainable.

“Yes, I’m worried, since we are accustomed to water (rain and flood), my worries are supressed. We know that we need to evacuate our home during the flood. We just do what needs to be done,” he said.

“If we had our way, we don’t want the flood to hit again. But what to do,” says Juhan.

The rain starts pouring heavily. In a short span of time, his yard is filled with rain water.

Juhan lights another cigarette. As he exhales, he daydreams of a better future.