JUHAN JUHARI leans back at the balcony of his house and takes a long pull from his cigarette.
His shift as a security guard at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Serating begins in several hours at 8pm.
Juhan lives in Kampung Alor Tembusu, one of the villages in Merchang located in the district of Marang, Terengganu.
He has lived there for almost 20 years with his wife and seven children. Since a year ago, Juhan has cared for her ailing 74-year-old mother.
“Do come in. Akak (his daughter) will make you a drink, we have guests here,” said Juhan, who was dressed in pelikat sarong and collared T-shirt as he invites us into his home.
“The flood has receded. Tuesday we returned home to clean the thick mud."
A quick look of the house, it was evident that Juhan and his family had laboured hours to clean their wrecked home that was covered with thick mud and rubbish swept by floodwaters.
The only evidence of the flood was the water stain on the wall.
During the peak of the flood, Juhan said water level had increased to his chest and seeped into the main part of the house.
“That morning (Saturday) I was planning to go to Marang. Water had just surpassed the knee and when I returned home two hours later at 8am, the water level had reached the thigh.
“Water was flowing so rapidly from the hills. It was raining, yes, but it was not that heavy. There was no tide, or I would’ve remembered the water level,” said the 47-year-old Juhan.
In the backyard of his house, lies a drain that is connected to Sungai Merchang. Overflowing water from the drain due to continuous heavy rain in the area had flooded the area.
During that time, Juhan and his family members had to spend the night at the evacuation centre at SMK Merchang, one of the three centres, to house over 300 flood victims in the area.
“When water level increased, we had to wait for aides from the Social Welfare Department to ferry my mother to a relief centre.
It was not the first time, Juhan experienced the harrowing ordeal caused by the wrath of Mother Nature.
Just like a vicious cycle, Juhan and his family had to brace themselves to face the flood.
“This area is easily hit by flood. It will flood after the rain even during high tide at the sea also this area will be flooded.
“All household items are totally damaged, this is the issue. Furniture, beds are chucked away in the fire. This is the yearly scenario,” he said, his face turns ashes, his lips trembles.
Juhan readily admits that the flood costs him his savings. Every year, his pittance salary combined with the little that his wife makes every month is exclusively used to fix the damages caused by the flood.
Every year, Juhan spends between RM2,000 and RM3,000 to fix the furniture and the house.
When met by Astro AWANI recently, the flood had receded but the furniture and personal items were still stored at a safe part of the house still need to be tidied.
Juhan said he is concerned if the next wave of flood will strike, yet again.
Each time the lightning strikes, Juhan looks to the sky. The cloud turned grey and heavy clouds started forming. The rain is coming.
“See, it is going to rain again,” he said.
Juhan is not perturbed, the issue will arise at the end of every year.
From his observation, the floodwater hit his area due to the narrow confluence of Sungai Mechang.
“If Sungai Merchang is okay, the high tide will occur for just a short time and will subside almost immediately. The problem is, the water seems to flow very slowly into the sea.
“If possible, I plea for the Social Welfare Department for allocation to fix the drain in this village. Water fails to flow. We can’t afford it. I dug a bit but it is incomplete,” says Juhan.
“Once the monsoon is here, we feel very restless,” he adds.
The lightning strikes again. And with it comes the rain.
In reality, Juhan looks as cool as cucumber. His feelings aren’t explainable.
“Yes, I’m worried, since we are accustomed to water (rain and flood), my worries are supressed. We know that we need to evacuate our home during the flood. We just do what needs to be done,” he said.
“If we had our way, we don’t want the flood to hit again. But what to do,” says Juhan.
The rain starts pouring heavily. In a short span of time, his yard is filled with rain water.
Juhan lights another cigarette. As he exhales, he daydreams of a better future.
Hoping for a ray of light, Juhan hopes the sun will soon reappears.
Israr Khalid
Mon Jan 09 2017
Juhan admits that his heart sank each time his area is hit by the flood. - Photo Astro AWANI/ISRAR KHALID
SPR India tuntut maklum balas aduan terhadap Modi, Rahul Gandhi
Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya India hari ini memaklumkan pihaknya sudah meminta maklum balas daripada parti pemerintah Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dan parti pembangkang, Kongres.
Penguin maharaja berdepan kepupusan akibat pencairan ais
Spesies penguin terbesar di dunia, penguin maharaja terus berdepan ancaman apabila habitatnya terjejas akibat perubahan iklim. Selain pernah disifatkan bakal pupus menjelang tahun 2050, saintis dari Pusat Penyelidikan British Antarctic Survey pada Khamis memberitahu perubahan iklim memberi kesan terhadap kecairan ais di wilayah beku Antartika yang menjadi habitat buat koloni penguin maharaja.
ANCC2024: Astro, NACSA bekerjasama anjur 'coding challenge'
Diilhamkan daripada komitmen Astro dan NACSA untuk memupuk langkah keselamatan siber yang proaktif, pertandingan itu juga bertujuan untuk menormalisasikan navigasi digital yang selamat dalam ruang siber.
Suhu cecah 42 Celsius, Bangladesh tutup semua sekolah sehingga Sabtu ini
Suhu panas melampau sehingga mencecah 42 Celcius memaksa kerajaan Bangladesh menutup operasi persekolahan yang melibatkan 33 juta pelajar di negara itu.
PM Haiti serah surat peletakan jawatan
Perdana Menteri Haiti, Ariel Henry akhirnya menyerahkan surat peletakan jawatan pada Khamis selepas tidak henti berdepan tekanan antarabangsa bagi mengawal kekacauan kumpulan pengganas di negara itu. Surat rasmi peletakan jawatan yang ditandatangani Ariel Henry diserahkan di Los Angeles dan dikongsi pejabat Perdana Menteri Haiti bersamaan tarikh majlis presiden peralihan ditubuhkan.
RTS JB-Singapura di landasan tepat
Perkambangan pembinaan Projek RTS Johor Bahru-Singapura dilihat berada pada landasan tepat.
Rakyat Israel sudah mula misi bina penempatan kekal di Gaza
Sekumpulan warga Israel yang bermalam di sempadan berarak memasuki Gaza pada pagi Khamis dengan matlamat untuk membuka penempatan kekal di wilayah itu. Dalam poster kumpulan itu yang tular di media sosial, tertera slogan 'tentera telah mendudukinya, maka kami akan menetap disitu'.
Malaysia sebuah negara selamat - Kedutaan AS
Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat di Malaysia menyangkal dakwaan dangkal Profesor Bruce Gilley yang mengatakan Malaysia adalah negara tidak selamat dilawati.
Memetik laporan Free Malaysia Today, pihak kedutaan berkata tiada perubahan kepada nasihat perjalanan yang kekal pada tahap satu, iaitu tahap paling rendah daripada empat tahap.
Memetik laporan Free Malaysia Today, pihak kedutaan berkata tiada perubahan kepada nasihat perjalanan yang kekal pada tahap satu, iaitu tahap paling rendah daripada empat tahap.
Menteri Luar Malaysia perkukuh hubungan dengan China
Menteri Luar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan mengadakan perbincangan substantif dengan rakan sejawatannya, Wang Yi, dalam lawatan pertama beliau ke China sejak memegang jawatan itu pada Disember 2023.
Kakitangan bakal terima tunggakan gaji dalam tempoh 30 bulan
Isu tunggakan gaji membabitkan 20 bekas kakitangan Kedah Agro Holdings Berhad (KAHB) selama sembilan bulan dijangka selesai dalam waktu terdekat selepas kesemua mereka akan menerima bayaran secara berperingkat dalam tempoh 30 bulan berjumlah RM337,000.
Climate change in Malaysia and what it means for us
The worlds climate is changing for the worse, and humans are responsible for that. Lets dive into a touch of science to make sense of this.
NADMA keluarkan amaran banjir di empat negeri utara Semenanjung
NADMA turut memberi amaran hujan lebat akan berterusan sehingga esok di Perlis dan Perak serta amaran banjir di Kedah, Pulau Pinang ,Kelantan dan Terengganu.
Hanya 4 peratus kenderaan di Malaysia dilindungi insurans banjir
Data yang dikongsikan oleh Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) menunjukkan hanya 2 ke 4 peratus pemilik kenderaan memilih untuk melindungi kenderaan mereka daripada banjir.
Tebatan banjir: Negara lain berjaya, Malaysia bila pula?
Banjir besar Kelantan pada 2015 umpamanya menyebabkan kerugian sekurang-kurangnya RM1 bilion harta benda awam, menyebabkan kerajaan lebih serius untuk mempercepat projek tebatan banjir seluruh negara.
Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang dilanda banjir lagi
Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang dilanda banjir paras lutut awal pagi tadi.
Mangsa banjir di Pahang, Kelantan menurun pagi ini
Jumlah mangsa banjir di pusat-pusat pemindahan di Pahang dan Kelantan menurun pagi ini berikutan keadaan cuaca yang semakin baik namun keadaan tidak berubah bagi mangsa banjir di Terengganu.