When a group of volunteers rolled into flood-hit Bentong and Karak, little did they know that the residents had been without food and drinking water for several days.
Inch-thick mud hampers vehicles carrying relief supplies on a road in Karak, Pahang.
They thought the residents would have seen aid pouring in after the two towns just outside the Klang Valley were almost submerged in floods, just like Shah Alam and Klang in Selangor.
Kuhan Selva from Sai College said he and his friends drove up to both towns in Pahang and were shocked to see the roads covered in inch-thick mud, making it difficult to drive into residential areas.
“With the help of police, we were taken through a few clearer back lanes. even then we could not drive much,” he told FMT.
Volunteers giving pillows and blankets to affected residents in Taman Karak Indah.
Kuhan and his friends had brought mattresses, blankets, pillows, sanitary pads, and disposable diapers.
“We only took some biscuits for ourselves because we thought they (the flood victims) had enough food. But the people told us that their kitchen equipment had been swept away. All the restaurants and convenience stores were also shut after the floods. They didn’t have food to eat,” he said.
Volunteers giving out mattresses to flood victims in Bentong, Pahang.
He urged volunteers to channel excess food and aid from Shah Alam and Klang relief centres to the two towns. “We were also in Shah Alam and Klang, and we saw the amount of food and aid coming. This can also be sent to the poor in Bentong and Karak,” he said.
The floods have left a thick layer of mud in Karak town.
Kuhan said that other than a food shortage and lack of clean drinking water since Dec 18, the residents in both the towns were also facing power blackouts.
Kuhan and his friends managed to give out mattresses, pillows, and blankets for 300 families, but the amount does not even cover a small residential area. “There are still so many people in need of help.” – FMT