KUCHING: If there was no Covid-19 pandemic, it would have been easier for flood victims to move to temporary relief centres.
But with the disease, evacuating has become a hassle, and even more challenging for those who are disabled such as Zainal Abdullah, who is paralysed from the waist down.
His wife, Julia Sulong, who was evacuated to the Desa Sinar Budi Baru Multipurpose Hall, said she was anxious when she saw floodwater starting to enter her house.
“My husband is bedridden. The situation on the first day was quite under control. We were still at our own place. But when rain continued to fall last night (Wednesday), the water entered our house fast.
“In the past, floodwater never reached up until the waist but this time, it covered the entire front entrance around 12 midnight.
“When the water had risen above the knee, there was no way that we could stay put any longer. I began to panic when I realised water had suddenly risen, as I have a bedridden husband,” she recalled.
Sensing that the situation would not get any better, the mother of six children said she immediately asked for help from the rescue team to evacuate her husband.
However, despite her repeated calls, help from the rescue team never arrived.
“I was extremely worried but luckily, the villagers helped to evacuate us.
“We are grateful to have such caring neighbours. I could not imagine what will happen if we were not evacuated that night.”
When asked for the delay in rescue, Julia said she was told that the rescue team was short of boats.
On the floods, Julia recalled that this was the third time she had experienced such an incident.
“But this time is much worse than before. We have lived here for 17 years, but the floodwater has never gone to the level that we needed to be evacuated.
“If my husband were healthy, I might not have been that worried, but his condition made me panic. It was fortunate that the people here helped to move my husband.”
Observing physical distancing
The secretary of Kampung Sinar Budi Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK), Hanina Habil, admitted that the evacuation process did not go well.
She said the biggest challenge was not only regarding the compliance of standard operating procedure (SOP) during the evacuation itself but also the shortage of boats.
“The main problem now is that the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) has insufficient assets to evacuate flood victims here at Desa Wira.
“The villagers here have to help carry the elderly, including persons with disabilities, children and even pregnant women. Not to mention, we also had to wait for the evacuation centre to get approval from the Resident’s Office before it could be converted to a temporary shelter.”
In times of crisis, she said fast response to evacuate victims was critical and they had no option but to use the old refrigerator door to help evacuate those who were stuck at home.
“We also used the garbage bin to evacuate children from their house. We cannot wait for the rescue team to come and pick us because victims had been waiting for more than two hours.
“Imagine, we waited for them since 2am but the rescue team still not come at 4.30am,” she lamented.
Another major constraint, Hanina said, was the capacity of the relief centre.
She said 63 family had been evacuated there.
“We have 40 tents in total to house 268 evacuees.
“And we also placed three victims who are still under home surveillance order in separated room.
“I know it is quite cramp now and I’m worried. Some people from the Health Department came yesterday and reminded us to observe physical distancing.
“How can we do that if we have to huddle together on the stage away from the floodwater?”
Integrated efforts
When asked on measures to be further improved, Hanina said the procurement of equipment for rescue efforts during emergency should be increased.
She said rescue efforts required integrated teamwork from various parties.
“Of course, we understand the challenges that Bomba is facing now.
With the vast geographical landscape and scattered population all over the place, it is difficult for Bomba to respond to every incident.”
Aziz Shurkini, who was also evacuated to the centre, echoed Hanani’s sentiments.
He pointed out that every JKKK should also provide at least one or two boats to help the rescue team during floods.
On another matter, Aziz revealed that there was also issue with the food supply donated to victims at the centre.
“Food is not enough for some evacuees here. Some had to buy their own or cook by themselves.”
As of Jan 14 at 8pm, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said in its report that a total of 3,518 flood victims from 929 families had been evacuated to 49 centres in four divisions – Kuching, Samarahan, Serian and Miri.
Kuching recorded the most flood victims with 2,585 from 649 families, placed at 34 evacuation centres.
The most evacuees are 268 victims staying at Sinar Budi Baru centre here.
730 flood victims from 59 families in Serian Division have been moved to nine evacuation centres there.
In Samarahan, 174 victims from 59 families are being placed at four evacuation centres there while in Miri, the Lubok Buntin community victims from four families are at two evacuation centres.
