Kelantan villagers innovate to tackle flood challenges

Residents in Kg Lubok — Rosid Abdullah built this elevated walkway, almost 2m high, which he plans to leave intact for future flood seasons. (Bernama pic)

KOTA BHARU: After enduring the annual floods caused by the monsoon season, residents in Kelantan are employing their creativity to ensure they can carry on with daily life as usual.

A resident of Kampung Lubok Gong in Rantau Panjang here, whose home is located about 35m from Sungai Golok, built a special walkway that allows his family to walk from their house, situated in a lower area, to a higher roadway without wading through floodwaters.

Rosdi Abdullah, 62, said the elevated walkway, almost 2m high, was completed in mid-November after two weeks of construction, with help from his children and son-in-law.

“Every year since 2018, I’ve built this walkway for my family’s convenience and dismantled it after the floods receded. However, this year I plan to leave it intact and reinforce the base with concrete to make it sturdier for future flood seasons.

“The structure uses scaffolding poles as pillars, similar to those used in building construction, and wooden planks to create the walkway,” he told Bernama.

Another resident from Kampung Tersang, 42-year-old Mohd Hirwan Faizal Che Rajiuon, built a mini floating raft to safeguard his bird-rearing business from flood losses.

“Before the floods, I constructed a covered raft measuring over 2 sq m using barrels, metal and wood to house more than 30 birds, including species like merbok and merbah jambul, valued at approximately RM10,000.

“The platform saved all the birds. When the water levels rose, my family and I relocated to a temporary relief centre, leaving the birds in their cages on the raft,” he explained.

On regular days, he said, the birds are housed in a hut in front of his house. “If they had been left there during the floods, they would not have survived,” he added.

Sadly, Mohd Hirwan said he was unable to rescue other livestock, such as chickens, as the water levels rose too quickly.

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