BUKIT MERTAJAM: A security guard's quick trip to his hometown turned into panic after learning that his house in Kampung Kubang Semang here was inundated by flash floods yesterday.
Ab Ghani Abdullah, 49, said he and his family had returned to Perlis on Friday to spend the night.
He said before leaving, he moved several vehicles to higher ground as a precaution due to continuous rain, leaving only his motorcycle behind.
"We went back to the village for only one night, and we really had a bad feeling because it was raining everywhere.
"While I was sleeping at the village, I received a call from a friend who told me the water had risen around the house," he said when met at the temporary relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Penanti here today.
He said he and his family rushed back and arrived around 10pm last night, but had to register at the relief centre as the road to his house was still under about one metre of water.
He said since moving to the area six years ago, his family has been hit by floods four times, resulting in damage to property and furniture as well as threats from venomous animals and short circuits.
"Yesterday, a large python was seen around the house.
"There is also the risk of other venomous animals and short circuits.
"That is why it is very dangerous to enter the house while the water is still high," he said, and he is now sheltering at the relief centre with four family members, including his younger sibling, who is a person with disabilities.
Meanwhile, factory manager Khairun Najwa Md Noor, 37, said she decided to bring her 78-year-old mother, who has cancer, to the relief centre for her safety and easier access to treatment.
"I live in a family home that is more than 100 years old with my mother, husband and two children.
"When it happened, the water rose very quickly. Even though the house has been renovated to cope with floods, we still could not do anything, and on top of that, there was a high tide.
"My mother is frail and has lost her sight. I was worried and asked her to move to the relief centre temporarily because there is a medical team here," she said.
Seberang Perai Tengah district officer and district disaster management committee chairman Datuk Kamarul Haizal Koderat said 36 victims from 10 families had been evacuated to the relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Penanti.
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