BENTONG – As the hours passed slowly as she clung on precariously to an oil palm tree while floodwaters raged around her, one thing in Maizatul Syafiqah Zaidi’s mind – she was going to die.
On Dec 18, her day started like any other day. She spent it with her family in Felda Chemomoi, near Karak, Pahang.
She did not Know that the day would end with the death of two relatives who were swept away by a water column that destroyed large parts of Kampung Seri Telemong.
University student Maizatul Syafiqah, 20-year-old was among the 10 survivors of the deadly floods in Kampung Seri Telemong that killed five people, including her 60-year-old aunt and her cousin, with one person still missing.
On the day of the incident, she and five relatives were returning home in Felda Chemomoi after going to a cousin’s wedding in Lipis. Their journey was disrupted by rising waters, forcing them to stop at a bridge near Sungai Telemong.
“My mother, a younger sibling and I were in a Nissan Frontier, while my aunt and two cousins were in a Proton Exora.
“We passed the bridge at Telemong around 6pm, but could not go far because of the rising floodwaters. Then, we decided to return to Karak to use an alternative road.
“Just before we arrived at the bridge, two cars stalled due to the rising waters. Some people helped push both vehicles towards the bridge, thinking it would be safer to wait until the water receded.
“Later, a man driving a Mitsubishi Triton (at the bridge) told us to climb onto the back of his pick-up as the waters started to rise. So 14 of us climbed onto the back of the Triton, while two climbed onto the roof of a Perodua Myvi.”
Maizatul said as the waters rose rapidly, a sudden gush pushed them off the vehicle.
“The area was dark and I tried to keep my head above water. The floods seemed like a huge sea. I still remember people screaming for help as we were swept towards a nearby oil palm plantation.
“The fast-flowing water had so much wood debris. After some time, I managed to latch onto an oil palm tree branch. I hung on to the tree and not stop praying for help.”
She said as the hours passed, she thought she was going to die. She shouted to other people and heard her mother’s voice in the distance. However, her aunt did not respond.
After six hours of clinging onto the tree for dear life, she and several others were rescued by firefighters in an inflatable boat. Of the 16 people on the bridge that night, only 10 survived.
“Around 9am, firefighters found my aunt’s (Zaieshah Adnan) body near an oil palm tree. My mother, sibling and male cousin survived but my aunt and female cousin died in the incident.
Maizatul mother’s, Rosmawati Abdul Sani, 46, said she grabbed onto some branches and gripped a section of a tree with her knees.
“I wanted to hold on and not lose focus. Each time we saw some beams from torchlights, we shouted for help.
“We were standing on the back of the pick-up, I heard the azan for Maghrib prayers. It was almost 6am when the firefighters rescued us.”
Asked about the 16 other victims, Rosmawati said she remembered there were two Indian men, a couple from Kampung Shafie, a family of six who were going back from Kedah and six of her relatives.
Another survivor, Mohamad Zulhilmi Ahmad, 32, lost his mother, Rokiah Ismail, 69, and sister, Siti Zaitun Ahmad, 50, in the incident. His father, Ahmad Yahya, 71, is still missing.
The body of Maizatul Syafiqah’s aunt, Zaieshah, was found on Dec 19. The remains of three women and a man were found on Dec 20. Rescuers are still looking for Zulhilmi’s father, Ahmad.
It was reported that on the day of the incident, rescuers were unable to access the site near the bridge. This is due to several roads were completely submerged. Rescue operations only began about 2am on Dec 19.
Source: T.N.Alagesh (NST.COM.MY)
