These unsung heroes are indeed the backbone of our country!
Flash floods are happening yet again and the number of flood victims have also been on the rise.
When waters were rising in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, a local hero managed to save 700 lives in just under 10 minutes with his quick actions.
The incident happened in Taman Pinggiran Felda Sungai Kelamah, Negeri Sembilan, where 200 houses were affected by the flash flood.
As it was raining so heavily, the residents were observing the water levels every hour from 9pm-4am.
At 4am, the rain continued to fall but they felt like everything was going to be fine and that they would not be affected.
However, to their surprise, 25 mins after they had last checked, water started to enter their houses quickly and without any prior warning!
60 years old resident, Samsudin Omar also know as “Apak”, became the unsung hero when he woke everyone up and evacuated everyone in the neighbourhood. He did all this without the help of the emergency siren, which was not working at the time.
“If I was not there that night, I cannot imagine what would have happened. Someone’s life might have been taken because the water rose up so fast.”
He had received a phone call from a friend at 4:10 am who told him that the river had started to overflow and that the water was heading their way.
Apak quickly acted after he had realised that the danger was heading towards them.
Unfortunately, none of the residents were able to save any of their personal belongings. But Apak was relieved that no lives were harmed or lost due to the flood.
“In just under 10 minutes after evacuating everyone the water rose up till knee-length. It all happened too quick.”
According to Apak, TNB had cut off the electricity for the emergency siren as their State Forestry Office has not been paying their bills.
TNB has since responded
A statement by TNB revealed that the State’s Forestry Office requested to close their account on 12 October 2021.
“TNB’s review shows that the State Forest Office applied to close the account on October 12, 2021 due to the fact that the sirens in both areas were not working and were not being used by the residents of the affected areas.”
Kudos to Apak and the team for quickly responding to the disaster and saving so many lives.
Also read: Internet Hero ‘Abang Viva’ Receives Certificate of Appreciation For Helping Flood Victims
