Inner Wheel Club of Alor Setar joins efforts to help flood victims
Inner Wheel Club of Alor Setar
30 December 2021
It had been raining incessantly for several days and on 18 December 2021, many parts of Malaysia went under water. Scores of people in affected areas had to be transported by boat to temporary flood relief centres with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The swollen rivers led to unprecedented flooding and in many homes, shops and offices, water rose to above 10 feet, devasting everything in its raging fury. Lives of both humans and animals were lost as family members watched helplessly in horror as they were swept away. Images circulating online showed several areas submerged over the weekend by water levels not seen since the massive flood of 1971.
As the water in residences subsided after several days, people returned to what was once their comfortable home, now left barren and muddy, with the unbearable stench of putrid debris and carcases. Flood victims could not imagine how they could pick up the tiny pieces of what was left, if anything at all.
A well-wisher and regular donor who lives near one of the worst hit areas in Selangor visited many of the victims and when asked what they needed the most, the response was gas stoves so that at the very least, they could cook a simple meal to feed their family.
Inner Wheel Club of Alor Setar (IWC AS) responded to a call from this donor and a total of 14 gas stoves were purchased to add to the many other items, like provisions, clothes, bedding, cleaning equipment and towels from other charitable organisations and individuals.
It is heart-breaking indeed to hear of what the flood victims had to endure for several days. Everything that they had taken for granted would always be there was gone in the blink of an eye, and for many, it meant starting all over again. IWC AS fervently hopes more serious action will be taken by the powers that be to avert such disastrous occurrences in the future so that people in these affected areas and elsewhere could live without the fear of devastating floods every time it rains.
~ Shantha Pillai