VILLAGERS in Kuala Krai, one of the worst-hit districts in the massive 2014 floods that swept Kelantan, are still trying to rebuild their lives five years on.

Recalling the rising water that destroyed their homes and belongings in a blink of an eye, they said they fear being hit by floods again.

Some also complained that they have not seen much assistance from the state government.

While bigger villagers elsewhere seemed to have received financial and other aid from the PAS-run state administration, they said their remote villages have been overlooked.

“Even if there was any form of financial aid, perhaps only the bigger villages received it,” Mohd Hasri of Kg Gong Genor told The Malaysian Insight.

“We are quite remote and disconnected, so we didn’t receive much help.”

He said his village is prone to flooding when it rains, raising concerns that a proper flood-mitigation plan is needed.

Hasri said his relatives in Kg Bedal, one of the villages hardest hit in the 2014 floods, had temporarily sought shelter at his house.

However, Kg Gong Genor, too, was not spared from what has been called “the worst floods in Malaysian history”.

Recounting his experience, Hasri said the water level rose as high as the entrance to his elevated kampung house.

“It took about a week for the water to recede. Some of my electronic appliances, like the washing machine and lawnmower, were destroyed.

“Since our village is quite disconnected compared with the others, we did not receive any help during the disaster,” he said, adding that villagers had to find their own way to get by.

Romazi of Kg Bukit Pagar said although his village was not directly affected, it was “totally disconnected”.

The village is located uphill, and the surrounding low-lying areas were submerged in the 2014 incident.

“We survived for two months without electricity,” said Ismail, another villager.

“We had to rely on candles and oil lamps to survive.”

Romazi said villagers had no access to food for a few weeks, and had to rely on donations from volunteers.

He did not elaborate on whether conditions have improved since the floods.

Nonetheless, access to clean water appears to be a major problem faced by Kuala Krai’s remote villages.

Many have been relying on civil society groups for help securing clean water.

The massive floods, which occurred in December 2014, were triggered after Sg Galas, Sg Lebir, Sg Nenggiri and Sg Kelantan broke their riverbanks, causing water to spill into “flat” areas.

More than 150,000 people were displaced. – June 19, 2019.