Plight of pregnant Kelantan woman reflects flood havoc

To escape, she and her family waded through chest-deep water for five hours

- Azril Annuar

KOTA BHARU - A pregnant woman and her family waded through chest-deep water in a desperate five-hour bid to escape flood waters in their remote village in Kelantan on Nov 27, amid widespread, deadly flooding in Malaysia, the most severe in a decade.

But the worst may not be over as there has been no let-up in the torrential downpour, with the weatherman predicting a second wave of floods from Dec 8 to 14. So far, Malaysia has recorded six deaths, while in southern Thailand, 29 people have lost their lives.

"We were terrified. We were fighting for our lives," Ms Sharifah Nurul Ayuni Syed Jaffrey, 26, who is three months' pregnant with her second child, told The Straits Times.

Referring to her husband Mohamad Iruan Abdullah, 35, and their son Hakim, three, she said: "We realised that the water level was increasing rapidly at around 4pm and quickly grabbed a few things, and headed for the flood evacuation centre."

Their village, Kampung Banggol Merbok, in north-east Kelantan state, is located near a large river, Sungai Golok - which originates in southern Thailand and is called Sungai Kolok by Thais.

"My husband was carrying Hakim and a bag of our clothes and a few personal belongings. As we continued towards the evacuation centre, the water reached our chests," Ms Sharifah said.