KOTA BHARU: Residents have generally described the current floods in the state as worse than the floods during 2014, which were labeled as ‘Bah Kuning’ (Yellow-coloured Floods) because of their high mud content. A resident of Kampung Kota Jembal, Abdullah Zawawi Che Mat, 59, said heavy rain had continued for the past three days with strong currents causing his house to be flooded up to one metre.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the situation brings back the painful experience during the 2014 incident which caused Kelantan to be almost completely paralyzed at that time since 202,000 people were displaced. Abdullah remarked, “The continuous rain since last Tuesday has caused me to pack up and put important items and documents at a higher place. In 2014, my house was only flooded with water of about 0.6 metres, but this time the flood has occurred after just two days of continuous heavy rain, causing the house to be inundated with water reaching one metre.”

Elaborating further, Abdullah Zawawi noted that th
ere is only one drainage system in Kota Bharu, which is one of the causes of the sudden rise in water levels, taking a long time to recede. He explained, “If a flood occurs involving more than 30 villages around here, the flood can only pass through one drainage system, thus causing water to be easily surrounded.”

Bernama’s survey around the settlement involved several villages including Kampung Chepa, Kampung Beris Arab, Kampung Kubang Badak, Kampung Seman, Kampung Tok Kambing, and Kampung Senang, which were flooded with water levels reaching between 0.5 metre to one metre.

Meanwhile, another resident from Kampung Kota Jembal, Mohd Rudzuan Mat Jusoh, 45, said the flood incident this time was also the worst since living in the village more than 22 years. He and his family moved to his sister-in-law’s house in Pengkalan Datu, and nearly 30 houses in the area were inundated by floodwaters.