A woman suffering from gout had to stand in floodwaters in her house for six hours before being rescued by the Kelantan Civil Defence Force (APM).

Mazlina Mohamed, 45, said her home was flooded with water up to nearly a metre from morning and she was rescued at 3pm.

“I had to stand in the water and endure the pain as my family had just moved into this rented house two months ago and we still do not have any furniture,” said Mazlina who was taken to the temporary relief centre (PPS) at SMK Beris Panchor here.

“This is our first experience relocating to a PPS due to flooding. We rented the house despite knowing the area is flood-prone because it was our only option, and the rent is affordable at RM300 a month,” she told Bernama when met at the PPS yesterday.

She, her husband Mohd Riduan Harun, 45, and daughter Nur Aliya Maisarah Mohd Riduan, 19, moved to the PPS after being instructed to do so by the authorities.

Mazlina said she has been suffering from gout over the past two years and her condition worsened over the past week.

She said she was promptly treated by the district health centre staff at the PPS.

Another flood victim, Yasmin Syafiqah Anuar, 29, recalled being unable to sleep the night before as water began overflowing from the irrigation canals and padi fields near her home.

“I moved to the Kampung Budi housing area four months ago and didn’t know it was floodprone. I started packing and moving items to higher ground.

“By 8am, with water levels rising to nearly one metre, we were instructed by the authorities to evacuate and were transported to the PPS by Armed Forces personnel,” she said.

Yasmin said she chose to rent her current home because of its proximity to her husband’s workplace in Kota Baru.

Her husband, Mohd Junaidi Mohd Ikbal, 33, works with the local council, and she was accompanied by their three children, aged between one to eight.

Bachok district disaster management committee chairman Syamsul Abu Bakar said 40 flood victims from 11 families were relocated to the SMK Beris Panchor PPS on Friday.

“The PPS residents are provided with adequate facilities, including collapsible tents for each family. If the family is large, we provide additional resources to ensure their comfort.

“Once the victims arrive at the PPS, they are given retort-packaged ready-to-eat meals. We also work together to cook rice in a designated area to serve meals three times a day for the flood victims,” he said.

Syamsul said with support from the Social Welfare Department, led by its Bachok officer Zulfikri Abd Wahab, flood evacuees were provided with other essentials such as biscuits, packet drinks, mattress covers, blankets, towels, sarongs and hygiene kits.

He said the flood evacuees are cared for by personnel from several agencies.