Mother traumatised seeing son almost swept away by strong currents in Chaah

SEGAMAT: A mother is still traumatised after witnessing her youngest son repeatedly fall due to the strong currents while wading through floodwaters to save himself last Wednesday.

M. Kalaivani, 46, said that in the 5.30 am incident, she woke up to find that the water in her home in Kampung Baru Chaah here had reached knee-level.

"My eldest son then told me that he was informed by his friend that floodwaters had started to rise in Pekan Chaah.

"When we opened the door, the water was already at waist level, so we decided to go to the nearby school," she said when met at her home, here.

Although the school is not far from the house, the strong currents had made it difficult for them to get there, and her eight-year-old son had to climb over the school fence since the entrance was too far, said Kalaivani.

"At that time there was no help because we heard that the town had turned into an 'island' and was inaccessible. We sat on the third floor of the school and starved until 8 pm before being rescued," she said.

The mother of four, who has lived in the house since birth, said she has never experienced such a severe flood before.

"It is sad that many of our belongings, including two motorcycles and a new set of furniture bought for the last Deepavali celebration, could not be salvaged," said Kalaivani.

In the incident last Wednesday, Pekan Chaah and the surrounding area were cut off and turned into an island, making it inaccessible for the authorities to go in and rescue the flood victims.

It also killed two elderly people in Jalan Kongsai, Chaah, who were found by the authorities after the water receded, three days ago.

Meanwhile, a Bernama check in Pekan Chaah and surrounding areas where floodwaters have receded found that many vehicles were left stranded due to flooding.

The Chaah police station fence was seen badly damaged and covered in debris.

Also badly affected is the Chaah Health Clinic, where many health workers and volunteers were sighted cleaning patient chairs and other equipment covered in mud.

Machap Jaya assemblyman Ngwe Hee Sem from Melaka, was also spotted helping Chaah residents, especially the elderly, clean their homes as well as helping the clinic staff.

-- BERNAMA