YONG PENG, Johor - With many roads in Johor submerged because of ongoing floods, families find themselves separated by bodies of water from their loved ones.

Canteen operator N. Komathy, 41, who lives in Yong Peng, has been unable to visit her brother in the small town of Chaah, 38km away, after access between the two areas was cut off by flood waters.

“Chaah was badly hit by floods on Wednesday, with water rising rapidly. My husband borrowed a lorry from a friend and we rushed to pick up my brother, his wife and two children as well as my mother before access to the town was cut off.

“When the water started to recede the next day, my brother decided to make his way back with his family so that they could start cleaning their house. Unfortunately, the water level rose again and now they are stuck there,” she told The Star.

She is now trying to find ways to take her brother and his family back to Yong Peng.

“My brother told me it’s difficult to find food there as all the shops are closed. I am worried about them, especially my niece and nephew, who are only two and 11.

“Thankfully, my mother is still with us in Yong Peng. I will try to borrow the lorry again so that we can bring them here. I also wanted to take some food there for his neighbours as they don’t have enough food,” she added.

Farmer Mohd Fahizan Ramlan, 44, was separated from his 13-year-old daughter for two days after she could not return home from a religious school at Kampung Jawa in Segamat district.

“She had an exam on Wednesday and was supposed to come home around noon. But the road between my house in Kampung Padang Lalang, Segamat, and the school was already cut off by the floods,” he said.

A relative managed to pick the girl up from school.

“Thankfully, the school is not far from my relative’s house and she stayed with my relative for two days. I brought her home on Friday after the road cleared,” he said.

He added that his house was almost submerged when the water level rose to the ceiling last Wednesday.

“We have another house about 1.5km away. We moved there a day before it flooded as we expected it. We have been hit by floods numerous times before and know the drill.

“However, this is one of the worst floods we have seen. It’s as bad as in 2006,” he said, referring to the massive floods that saw towns cut off and more than 100,000 people evacuated to relief centres. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK