KLANG: Fisherman Tian Hee believes he has never seen a tide as high as the one that hit several Malaysian coastlines early Thursday morning.
Tian, residing in the Bagan Sekinchan fishing enclave about an hour’s drive from here, expressed surprise at the wave’s height.
“Seawater rushed into many homes in the village following the high tide, but we were prepared and had put all our belongings on high shelves,’’ he said.
He said fishing boats had gone to sea as usual because high tides, which are also known as spring tides, had no adverse effects at sea.
Tian said fisherfolks generally would not evacuate their homes during such occurrences and would sit and wait until the water recedes.
“It is the families that live in nearby housing estates and non-fisherfolks that get evacuated during such occurrences.”
The tide had apparently risen to 5.9m as opposed to the previous highest level of 5.8m.
According to Selangor Fire and Rescue department assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar, the two worst hit places in Selangor were Sabak Bernam and Kuala Selangor.
“There were some evacuations that had to be carried out in these areas,’’ he said.
The Welfare Department’s disaster information data stated two evacuation centres had been opened in Sabak Bernam and one in Kuala Selangor.
Twelve and nine families from Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam, respectively, were moved to these centres, and a total of 66 people were affected by the high tide.
Selangor Fishermen Association chairman Omar Abdul Rahman, who is from a fishing village in Kuala Selangor, said water rose very quickly and entered houses that were close to the seashore before 5am on Friday.
“The speed and height of the high tide were very unusual this time around.
“But we did not leave the village and just sat and waited until the water receded by 8am (Friday),’’ he said.
Just like fishermen from Tian’s village in Sekinchan, Omar said fishermen from his village, as well as other fishing villages in the district, had gone to sea as usual.
The high tide also wreaked havoc near the shorelines in Klang, where traffic came to a standstill due to flooding.
Marine environmental scientist Prof Datuk Dr Zulfigar Yasin had said on Wednesday that the high tide phenomenon can be further exacerbated by high winds coming onshore, which further drive the water into the estuary.
