The 2014 Kelantan floods were one of the worst in recorded history. Although there have been regular occurrences every 2 – 3 years, the flood escalated beyond anyone’s expectations. As bad as the floods were, the good people of Kampung Bertam Baru have persevered through the tough times, a testament to the resilience in this tightly knitted community.
In the midst of all the beauty in the land, there’s always a dark side to nature. TRCRC received a call from a local Kelantan NGO asking for some support to restore the banks that were destroyed during the floods. Pictures from the flood already painted a clear picture of the destruction, but being in the centre of where the damage was at its most, in person, really puts the power of the floods in perspective. The floods reached a peak of 20m above ground level, inundating the whole village, destroying homes, and displacing people. The rail services was affected in the East Coast causing transportation to stop immediately in these areas. The Bertam Baru train station particularly was wrecked by the flood causing the train ride across the bridge to be disrupted. The locals told us that the flood rose as high as the bridge and to never underestimate the power of flood.
Upon arrival to Bertam Baru we were greeted by the Ketua Kampung (Village Chief) and his faithful council. Along with Dr. Dzaeman and Dr. Tajang from TRCRC, we were invited into their humble homes and they shared about the challenges they were facing. I was caught off guard listening to their stories about the devastated land during the flood and their efforts in redeveloping the village. A year later after the flood, i can still see people staying in temporary shelters. Planting trees and restoring the banks may not directly solve a lot of the problems faced by these people, but we hope it can mitigate future flood effects on the village. We were brought around to observe the affected areas of the village along the river and to distinguish the zones to be restored.
While there are plenty of petrifying statistics out there, I think TRCRC’s work in Bertam Baru will provide tremendous exposure in identifying and tackling this issue. Communities in some areas face a series of threats from destructive climatic events regularly. It destroys homes, cultivated land, livestock, businesses and even human life.
In retrospect, I am are truly grateful to be living in the city, even though yes, floods do occur but it’s not as detrimental as compared in the outskirts. The living condition is poor and their incomes are mainly from growing and distributing farm goods such as vegetables, and fruits. It has it’s importance in the economy and what me and the team at (TRCRC) aim to do is help the community to sustain their businesses by restoring their land. It has given me a bigger picture to how things cycle in life and through this experience, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, everyone can do their part in lending a hand to the needy.
That being said, you can reach out to the various groups/organizations already working on the ground and support them in any way you can as a volunteer. In the present time, you might feel your contribution is small but the road to recovery will be long and fuelled by continuous public support. It is your help that enables us to change and transform lives for the community, significantly for the better.
Signing out,
Bryzoid
