Boy is second flood victim in Kelantan

What say you on the issue below?

PASIR MAS: The floods in Kelantan have claimed a second life. A six-year-old boy drowned after falling into a canal in Kampung Pak Sek yesterday.

Mohamad Syakimi Sayuti was at the time playing with his younger brother Mohd Hasif, four, and friend Mohd Shahrul Che Musa, five.

Cleaning up: Kota Baru Municipal Council staff washing off the mud and soil from the Tambatan Diraja bridge in Pasir Mas in Kelantan yesterday.

Mohd Shahrul said Mohamad Syakimi was running up and down the bank of the canal when he slipped and fell into it at about 5.30pm.

Mohamad Syakimi’s mother, Norashikin Jusoh, 27, who is a housewife told reporters she knew of the incident after her younger son came home crying to relate the news.

Villagers found Mohamad Syakimi’s body at 6pm.

The first victim of the floods was Mohd Mazlan Yajid, 28, who drowned on Nov 6 while bathing in Sungai Banggol Kerian in Pasir Puteh.

The situation in the flood-hit state is improving with the fine weather and the number of evacuees in Pasir Mas and Tumpat districts stood at 3,643 yesterday morning compared to 4,000 the day before.

In Kota Baru, state flood operations control centre chief Wan Mustapha Wan Abdul Hamid said the situation in the other flood-hit districts had returned to normal.

He said the old Rantau Panjang road was still closed to all traffic in Kampung Siram and only passable to heavy vehicles in Kampung Meranti.

In Tumpat, Jalan Kasban was under 1m of water and closed to all traffic.

The water level of Sungai Golok in Kampung Jenob and Rantau Panjang was still above the danger level, he added.

Meanwhile, in ALOR SETAR, padi farmers were worried that their recently-planted seedlings might not survive if flood waters did not recede within a week.

Farmer Ahmad Dohar, 84, from Kampung Kuala Sungai here, said he would have to spend RM2,000 on grown padi seedlings if those he planted two weeks ago were damaged.

“I do not think that my 5cm-tall seedlings can survive under water for a week,” he said yesterday.

Ahmad also said he could not pump the flood waters out from his plot because the water canals and nearby river had overflowed.

Mansor Daud, 67, from Malau in Jitra, said he would wait until the flood waters receded to inspect the damage.