Johor’s Kota Tinggi residents prepare for evacuation
As Johor battles rising floodwaters due to non-stop rains, fearful residents of Kota Tinggi district are packing their bags to prepare for evacuation, with memories of massive floods that inundated their area 17 years ago not far from their minds.
During the 2006-2007 floods, several parts of Johor were submerged in water, with Kota Tinggi being the hardest-hit district – the worst floods in the state in over 50 years.
Nurse A. Shamala, 47, took emergency leave from her workplace in Singapore and rushed home to be on standby for the disaster.
“My elderly parents and my children are staying in Taman Kota Jaya (in Kota Tinggi) and I was worried that something might happen to them.
“I took emergency leave on Tuesday and Wednesday and packed our belongings. We are ready to evacuate at any time. The murky waters have been steadily creeping up.
“Looking at the floods makes us nervous. Back in late 2006 and early 2007, the floodwaters rose suddenly and reached the roof of our house. It was quite scary,” she said.
For many residents in the district, the memories are fresh from 17 years ago when the entire Kota Tinggi town and nearby housing areas were submerged for nearly two weeks.
Residents were cut off from neighbouring towns by floodwaters and landslides, and more than 100,000 people had to be evacuated to relief centres.
Checks by The Star on Thursday showed floodwaters rising in Kota Tinggi town with several roads, including the main bridge entering the area, closed off.
Mr Mohd Haidzir Zainal, who owns a motorcycle repair shop near the town has opened up his shop to his flood-affected peers to temporarily store their items.
“Another motorcycle repair shop operator nearby had his shop flooded on Wednesday, so he moved his equipment and motorcycles to my workshop.
“We have to look out for each other. I still remember the terrifying scenes from the major flooding incident in 2006-2007 when the waters reached as high as the top of the traffic lights in front of my shop,” he said.
The 40-year-old added that there were ankle-level floods in 2021.
“At the time, I did not go home – I stayed overnight at my shop to monitor the water level in case I needed to move my equipment.
“While floods were common in the district, I could not help but feel worried as photos and news of the floods in Segamat on Wednesday were quite bad,” added Mr Mohd Haidzir. - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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