Heavy rain, high tides put Pulau Perhentian villagers on alert as monsoon season begins

 

JERTIH, Oct 27 — Residents in the village on Pulau Perhentian here have started making early preparations for the Northeast Monsoon (MTL), which is expected to bring heavy rain and pose a flood risk to low-lying areas of the village. 

Resident Azizah Ab Rahman, 59, said the village was also vulnerable to flooding, especially when heavy rain coincided with high tides, causing water to stagnate and making it difficult for it to drain into the sea.

“In the past, during the MTL, this situation caused low-lying areas, such as Kampung Tengah, to be flooded up to a depth of almost one metre when rainwater flowing down from the hills could not drain into the sea due to the high tide.

“As a precaution, I began moving household items to higher ground a few days ago, as floods can occur at any time during the monsoon season,” she told Bernama when met at her house on Pulau Perhentian yesterday.

Azizah, who has been living alone since her husband died several years ago, said her children worked and lived on the mainland, leaving her to seek help from neighbours to move heavy items, such as the refrigerator and washing machine, from the kitchen to the higher section of her house.

She said that although the flash floods usually receded within a few hours after the rain stopped, early preparations were important to prevent damage to household items and property losses.

Meanwhile, another resident, 36-year-old Hayatunnupus Nawawi said she had also placed her refrigerator in the living room on a specially built platform about 1.5 metres high to protect it from floodwaters.

“I have kept the refrigerator there permanently since last year’s incident because it is difficult to move it when flooding occurs.

“I have two young children, aged five and nine, while my husband, Ali Abdullah, 36, is physically paralysed,” she said.

Pulau Perhentian Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman Nik Zawawi Mohd Nor said about 30 houses were usually affected whenever flooding occurred in the village.

He said the floods were generally caused by heavy rain coinciding with high tides during the MTL, making it difficult for water to drain quickly into the sea.

“Flooding usually lasts about two hours and may occur several times throughout the MTL season, depending on rainfall and tidal conditions,” he added. — Bernama