RANTAU PANJANG: About 1,900 flood victims from 409 families at a temporary evacuation centre in SK Sri Rantau 2 have been forced to bathe and take their ablution using floodwater and rainwater due to a disruption in the water supply at the premises.
The problem has happened before as the evacuation centre was previously used for relocating victims.
Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) has yet to send any supply of water for them to use.
Syamimi Natasha Abdullah, 26, a resident of Kampung Kedai Lama, shared her frustration about the situation. She said despite being aware about the unhygienic flood water, the flood victims have no alternative.
"Imagine waking up as early as 5am along with other flood victims to bathe in front of the relief centre, which is flooded with 0.2m-deep water.
"We have to wake up early and bathe early because we are shy about bathing in front of other victims. This has been the situation since we arrived at this relief centre three days ago. I am exhausted from the lack of water supply at the relief centre.
"At the same time, I am collecting rainwater to bathe my one-year-old child because I fear flood water may cause skin irritation," she said when met here today.
Ainin Musa, 54, echoed similar sentiments adding that he is forced to take his bath at another place.
"I refuse to use the floodwater for bathing. So, I am forced to return home or visit a relative's house for this purpose.
"Although the issue has been reported to the volunteers, they seem to be unable to provide a solution. Hence, I implore AKSB to step forward and supply water to the centre. SK Sri Rantau 2 has the highest number of flood victims in Rantau Panjang as compared to other relief centres," he added.
Farah Nadira Sakira Abdullah, 33, from Kampung Kedai Lama, also hoped AKSB would address the water supply shortage at SK Sri Rantau 2 soon.
She said her family collected flood water at night if her brother or father needed to use the toilet.
"This is not a new issue and it should have been resolved a long time ago. While there are several toilets at the relief centre, sometimes we are bale to gather a bit of water at the teachers' toilets . However, due to the big number of flood victims here, it is insufficient," she said.