NIBONG TEBAL: With Deepavali just three days away, many families are making last minute preparations to welcome the Festival of Lights.
However, that is not the case for several Indian families in Kampung Sethu here.
For them, their safety is more important than the celebration.
This is because Kampung Sethu is one of the villages here often hit by floods, especially during the Deepavali festivity.
And, to further compound matters, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) has issued a warning that the northeast monsoon is expecting four to six episodes of heavy rainfall starting Nov 11 until March next year.
Deepavali falls on Nov 12 this year.
Although heavy rainfall episodes are expected in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and western Sarawak from Nov 2023 until January next year, villagers of Kampung Sethu are not taking any chances.
For V. Chandra Segaran's family, preparation for Deepavali is only the bare minimum.
The 62-year-old factory bus driver said, for the last few years, the village had been hit by flooding during the Deepavali festivities.
He said, just last week, their house was hit by a minor flash flood due to heavy downpour.
"We are not taking any chances, what more with the unfavourable weather these few days.
"Deepavali for us will be a small, indoor celebration, only among close family members and some friends. There will not be any house visits and such. I would rather be home to prepare for any eventuality.
"I still remember last year, just a few days after Deepavali, our village was flooded. The flood water was until my knee level," he told the New Straits Times when met at his house this afternoon.
In February this year, the village was hit by a massive flood, with flood waters reaching Chandra Segaran's chest level.
The family of 11, including six adults and five children, had to stay at the temporary flood relief centre.
According to Chandra Segaran, it has come to a stage where they no longer buy new furniture and electrical items.
"We just make do with a wooden sofa seat and a television in the living room.
"In the past, we often put up decorations and Deepavali was a grand affair. Not anymore in the past few years.
"While it is supposed to be the Festival of Lights, for us, we have to wade through flood water. It is a misery.
"We can only hope and pray for the very best this year," he said.
For factory operator B. Mohanah, 37, Deepavali is just like any other ordinary day for her, her husband S. Sentikumar, 37, and their nine-year-old child S. Avinaash, 9.
Although her house has been raised several inches from the ground, it is still inundated with flood water each time it rained heavily.
"However, the flood situation worsened in the past six to seven years.
"We are worried that last year's flooding, just after Deepavali, will happen again this year. So, we are not planning anything this year.
"See, there is not even any decoration, more so after my husband was involved in an accident two years ago.
"As long as I have new clothes for my child and cook some curry chicken or fried chicken on Deepavali day. That is enough," she said when met.
In the February flood, Sentikumar's car was a total loss.
Now, he has a Proton Wira for the family to sleep in during floods.
Their rented house only has an old sofa which had been soaked in floor water before.
"There is no point for us to buy anything new. We are not a well to do family and cannot afford to bear losses each time it floods," she added.
Sentikumar said, in the past, he would usually set up four to five tables outside his house to fete his friends.
"Not anymore. I don't want them coming here and getting stuck in the flood when they return," he said.