ALOR SETAR, Nov 30 — Moments of joy turned to sadness when their beloved car was completely submerged due to floods in Hat Yai, but Hajariah Daud, 40, is still grateful that she and her family returned safely to Malaysia after being stranded for a week in the city.
The housewife from Kota Kuala Muda said that in these difficult times, she was relieved that her son, Awatif Amran, 17, who was supposed to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) this year, had decided to postpone it until next year.
“He actually wanted to take his private SPM this year, but felt he was not ready and asked for a postponement until next year. Awatif studies at a private religious school.
“But what saddens me is that when I look at our car (Innova Zenix), it keeps sinking deeper and deeper and eventually I can’t see it at all because the flood is too deep. “Our car had to be left in Hat Yai for now,” she told Bernama.
Hajariah said she, her husband and four children aged seven to 19, entered Hat Yai on Nov 21 to spend the night, before sending her daughter, Aisyah Amran, 19, back to Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in Sintok.
According to Hajariah, upon arriving there, the incessant rain caused the area around Hat Yai Paradise hotel, where they were staying, to be flooded very quickly even though the area was on a high location.
“At first we got the ‘alert’ message but we didn’t understand it because it was in Thai. In the end we were stranded at the hotel. For the first three days we still got food supplies twice a day, but from the fourth day we were rationed to only once a day.
“We collected rainwater to go to the toilet, perform ablution and take a shower. We also used rainwater for cooking. We all helped the hotel prepare food for all those stranded,” she said.
She said her family and other hotel customers were rescued by the military on Thursday (Nov 27) and taken to the border even though the water level was still over a metre at the time.
“We crammed into a military truck so that more people could be saved. Along the way to the border, my heart felt very sad and heartbroken when I saw many vehicles overturned and swept away by the flood,” she said.
Despite facing a challenging situation, Hajariah was still grateful to be surrounded by kind-hearted individuals despite their different races, religions and languages, they were able to work together to survive until help arrived.
