KANGAR: A retired soldier, who is taking shelter at SK Bintong flood relief centre, wades through flood water three times a day to return to his Tebing Tinggi home to feed his cat.
Abdullah Rahman, 65, doesn't mind all the hassle just to make sure that his pet, named Oye, gets its meals.
Abdullah and his family were forced to seek shelter at the relief centre after their home was inundated by flood on Thursday.
However, he decided not to take Oye along fearing that the cat would get lost at the school.
“Oye is a stray cat and we decided to take it home three years ago.
"Since then, Oye has become part of our family. We dn't want to lose him particularly after our other cat named Oya was killed in a road accident," he said when met at his house.
Abdullah said this was the second time his house was hit by flash flood in a span of two weeks. Just four days after he cleaned up the house, it was inundated by the flood water again.
"My house area is constantly hit by flash flood but this is the worst so far for this year. I hope the problem is resolved soon as my wife is paralysed and I fear for her safety every time it rains," he said.
When contacted, the state Drainage and Irrigation Department director Ir Najib Abdullah said the RM260 million Timah Tasoh West Flood Diversion project was currently 86 per cent complete.
He said all that was left was the construction of bridge and drainage works.
"It is expected to be completed according to schedule next year," he said.
On Friday, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man said the flood woes in Tebing Tinggi were expected to be resolved once the project was completed by December.
He said the flood in Tebing Tinggi, the worst affected area in the state, was caused by the ongoing construction of a bridge linking Kampung Wang Besar to Tebing Tinggi.
He said construction of a canal had been completed but the problem was with the 500m bridge which could not be expedited due to several problems, including the rainy spell for the past several weeks.