TANGKAK: An onion crisp seller is facing losses of up to thousands of ringgit due to the floods that hit his home and production factory here.

       Third generation trader Nurhan Aqil Shamshol Kamal, 22, said floodwaters rose to knee-level after a three-hour rainfall on Sunday afternoon, forcing his family in Kampung Sri Makmur to move to relatives’ homes.

       “My 84-year-old ailing grandfather and uncle, who live in front of my house, moved to my aunt’s house in Chabau, Melaka while my family moved to another relative’s house nearby in Tangkak.

       “The flood also flowed into our onion crisp production factory located right in front of my grandfather’s house.

       “We managed to move the raw ingredients and some of the smaller machinery but our larger one-tonne machines and 12 freezers were left at the premises.

       “We expect that the heavy machinery will be damaged by the murky waters,” he said when interviewed at the village here yesterday, adding that the floods forced their production to stop for the time being.

       Nurhan Aqil said his parents had built a barrier at their front door that stopped floodwaters from flowing into his home.

       “However, the floodwaters were quite high and we were only few centimetres away from the waters flowing into our living room.

       “Though we have had experience with the floods in 2006, 2011, 2017 and a flash flood last month, I hope it will not get worse,” he said. “In 2006, the water level rose as high as 3.5m,” he added.Village head Abdul Latiff Ali said residents started moving into the Sekolah Agama Bandar Tangkak temporary flood relief centre starting Saturday after two consecutive days of heavy rain.

       He said by 10am yesterday, 95 people from 25 families had sought relief at the school.

       “The families with people aged six months to 83 years old were placed at the classrooms according to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure to prevent diseases from spreading.

       “We are worried that the floods will worsen following the forecast of high tide and heavy rain in the coming days.

       “Sungai Kesang beside Kampung Sri Makmur is already quite full,” he said when met at the flood relief centre.

       Abdul Latiff added that the worst flood the village experienced was in 2006 when floodwaters forced more than 760 residents out of their homes.