ThreeDs

The clear sky, with the morning sun blazing down, gives no indication of any uncommon behaviour from Mother Nature. In fact, it had been a nice drive down, pass the border of Johore, into the state that has faced the brunt of the annual flooding in Malaysia. News footage of water rising up to the roofs and people ferried away on boats seem far removed from the very normal landscape we see.

Then we pass a plantation filled with brown murky water. And on the other side, we watch as the river, banks long broken, overflows into the oil palm plantation. Grim silence befalls us as we see homes sitting in 3-4 feet of water. We can only imagine how bad it had been a week ago, before the water receded yesterday.

An ambulance zooms by us, sirens blaring.

Above us, a helicopter grazes the tree tops, breaking any sense of commonality we feel as we enter into ‘ground zero’.

*

So what happened yesterday?

Actually, it’s not so dramatic….

7 of us went down to Johore yesterday for a recce trip and came away not only quite satisfied with the result, but also a little overwhelmed with the amount of things to be done over the next few weeks. We touched base with the local church in Kluang as well as Yong Peng, but we didn’t go into the critical areas. Kota Tinggi was still inaccessible as well as some orang asli villages. Segamat and Batu Pahat were also hot spots hit.

In Kluang, we worked with Project Eden, an interdenominational group supported by 16 churches, and they had a distribution centre, where they would cart the goods and supplies to villages. The Kluang area has receded, and as we drove through the roads, we saw people sunning and cleaning their furniture, mattresses and stuff. We also saw the rubbish and dirt brought in by the river, and broken roads by the river side. While the river was now docile, and I was glad for it, the curious side of human nature wondered how it would be like if it rained, and wanted the opportunity to experience it. Probably the same curious nature of Malaysians that makes us want to stop by the road to see a kemalangan.

In fact, I read the news that some people are bringing other people around Kota Tinggi in boats to see the flood. When asked why, they simply said, “Well, it’s Visit Malaysia Year 2007, so why not visit Kota Tinggi.” They charge 5 – 10 ringgit, have no life jacket, and you might be shot by the police helicopter. Otherwise, it’s wholesome fun for the family.

In Yong Peng, we helped out two relief centres, Yong Peng School with 116 families and 777 people; Seri Bertam School with 102 families and 481 people. The numbers are expected to fall as more and more families move back into their homes following the good weather.

So how bad is it?

Compared to last week, the water has receded a fair bit. Flooding was caused by

a) Rain, obviously

b) Tide – Even without rain, high tide caused the river to overflow the already weakened banks

c) Release of dam water – Overflowed dams are being stressed and to avoid breaking, they need to be released, causing more water to wash down the river and flood the areas.

Kluang and Yong Peng are already moving into Phase 2: Rebuilding stage. Kota Tinggi and some other places might still be in Phase 1, where basic necessities need to be provided. In Kluang and Yong Peng, it’s BAU: Business as usual. Except for the occasional flooded park where we saw young kids doing backstrokes and diving, and older guys fishing, traffic and businesses are opened and running. The roundabouts and roads that were flooded with 3 feet of water up until two days ago bear no signs of flooding. It’s quite amazing how resilient Malaysians can be, that as soon as the water clears, they bounce back and start work again, as if nothing happened.

What is needed?

1) Diapers/sanitary pads

2) Rice

3) Biscuits

4) Insant noodles/dry food

5) Can food

6) Cooking oil

7) Milk powder

8) Underwear

NO CLOTHINGS please, because we don’t want to be a dumping ground for unwanted laundry.

Delivery is to church at No. 6, Jalan 13/4, Jalan Bersatu, 46200 PJ. Map can be found here

http://gtpj.com/images/map_gtpj_eng.jpg

Call

Edward (0122656559)
James (0129168946)
Chin Choy (0126818388)

For delivery

What’s happening this Saturday?

We’re headed down with the supplies, and will be in 2 groups: one working with the Red Cross covering Yong Peng and Kota Tinggi, the other working with Project Eden, covering Batu Pahat and Segamat, likely. Plans will change.

There will be other trips down, so if you miss this one, no fear, there will be others. Right now, if you can’t be available, make sure you pray and continue to contribute. The guys will be doing a lot of grunt work, but we’ll need the ladies to minister/help the people at relief centres as well for now, and later on to help in the rebuilding.

Those going down:

1) Wear Breathable shirts, dri-fits, climacool shirts with sweat control, because you will sweat and stink

2) Shoes with extra socks. Might want a secondary pair of sandals in case things get wet and dirty

3) Bring down extra change of clothes

4) Bring some water

5) Do not bring any valuables or accessories

6) Probably some sandwiches or something

We’re NOT going down for a fun trip. So make sure you’re healthy because we will be working. You will be separated into groups as per leaders discretion, pls do not ask to change to be with someone you prefer etc etc. You are there as a worker, so do what you are required to do, and take care of yourself and don’t be taken care of!

Briefing : 5:00am
Departure Time : 5:30am
Departure Venue :

Church (No. 6, Jalan 13/4, Jalan Bersatu, 46200 PJ)

Thanks for the volunteer in venturing to make a difference!

Numbers to take note

Sunita (012 3995005)
Kenneth Koh (012 2063380) - overall Coordinator
Donald Lim (012 3956080)

More pictures can be found in Alf’s blog here!

Tags:flood, johor, kluang, kota tinggi, relief

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 2:35 pm and is filed under GTPJ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.