Water woes: A man standing in waist-high water outside his house in Kampung Mohd Amin after a flash flood due to a heavy downpour in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: A two-hour thunderstorm caused 25 locations here to be hit by flash floods, causing many residents to flee from floodwaters.
Muhammad Ikram Md Rashid, 24, was resting at his rented house in Jalan Mas in Taman Kolam Ayer yesterday when he heard a loud bang on the front door.
“It was raining heavily and I wanted to rest after returning from work in Singapore.
“The noise startled me and when I looked through the window, I saw water already at chest-level.
“I screamed for help and luckily a neighbour heard me and broke down the front door to rescue me,” he said.
Another tenant in the area, Joshua Abraham, 29, said he and his housemates had no choice but to tear the roof of the house to pull one of their friends to safety.
“It just happened so fast. I was not able to bring out any clothes or my passport, which I need because I work in Singapore,” he said.
Abraham, who is from Kuala Lumpur, said he was also unable to remove his motorcycle and car away from the floodwaters.
A Johor Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said 20 firemen in two boats from the Larkin station were deployed to Kampung Mohd Amin.
He said they were called to rescue 46 victims, including 38 tahfiz schoolchildren and a wheelchair-bound elderly person who were stuck inside a flood-hit house.
“The victims are seeking shelter at a house located on higher ground,” he said, adding that they were also monitoring the river level at several locations.
A Johor Baru City Council spokesman said its Skuad Kilat response team was deployed upon receiving reports about rising floodwaters in various areas since 2pm.
“As at 3.40pm, 25 locations within Johor Baru were hit by flash floods but the water has receded in some places,” he added.
The council’s enforcement unit also helped remove cars stuck along Jalan Ayer Molek.
