Easy does it: Johor Civil Defence Force personnel helping to evacuate residents in Kota Tinggi after floodwaters rose in Taman Aman and Taman Mawai.
JOHOR BARU: Continuous rain for the past two days has kept residents in Kota Tinggi worried about another episode of floods.
Graphic designer Hafiedzul Ahmad, 29, said it rained on Wednesday night until about 10am yesterday causing Sungai Johor located near his village in Kota Tinggi to rise.
“My siblings and I are working in Johor Baru but our elderly parents are staying in our village.
“When it rains heavily for a few days, the water level will rise and flow into my parents’ farm and our house. This has been happening for years.
“Although my father has built structures to keep the water out of our house, I am still worried about their safety,” he said in an interview.
He added that he has been keeping a close eye on the news about the flood situation in Pahang because the situation in the state usually affects Johor.
“If the floods in Pahang are bad, the waters would flow down to Segamat and Batu Pahat before hitting Kota Tinggi,” he said.
Hafiedzul plans to return to Kota Tinggi today to help move some belongings to safer places and the house of their relative.
He said his family is also planning to build another floor above their garage soon so that they would have a higher place to store their belongings when it floods.Another Kota Tinggi resident, who only wanted to be known as Tan, 70, said he got anxious when it rained non-stop from Wednesday night.
“The town area usually starts to flood when it rains constantly for three to four days. I had trouble sleeping on Wednesday night as I was worried about my restaurant located in town.
“Thankfully, the rain stopped at around 11am just now,” he said, adding that his shop was flooded last January.
Tan said he only heard from his friends that some low-lying areas like Taman Lukut Cina had flash floods. However, the floodwaters receded.
There were reports of floods in several areas in Johor including Kota Tinggi, Mersing, Kluang and Johor Baru after two days of continuous rain.
The state disaster management committee said the affected areas are Kampung Sentosa Damai, Kampung Sentosa Barat, Kampung Bukit Dagang and Lorong Mak Piah in Tebrau, Johor Baru; Taman Aman and Taman Mawai in Kota Tinggi; Kampung Air Papan and Kampung Tenglu in Mersing; and Kampung Contoh, Kluang.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, in a Facebook post, said MetMalaysia issued a warning of continuous rain until Sunday.
“The situation might worsen in districts like Segamat, Kluang, Mersing, Kulai, Kota Tinggi and Johor Baru.
“Batu Pahat and Pontian are also expected to be affected by the heavy rain.
“Please be careful and follow the instructions given by the authorities to ensure the safety,” he added.
MetMalaysia also issued an alert-level warning of continuous rainfall until Sunday in Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin in Pahang, reported Bernama.
Meanwhile, based on the latest report on the disaster situation in the country issued by the National Disaster Control Centre of the National Disaster Management Agency, the water in Sungai Arau, Perlis, and Sungai Kelantan in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, is at the danger level.
The report also stated that 19 roads are still closed either due to flooding, slope collapse or damage.
They are at Jalan Durian Mentangau in Dungun, Terengganu; Jalan Sungai Sam to Dabong in Jeli, Kelantan; Jalan Raya Timur Barat Kupang-Gerik-Jeli in Hulu Perak, Perak and Jalan Kota Tinggi-Kluang in Johor.
