ALOR STAR: Generally, a flood disaster brings despair to the victims, leaving property damaged and destroying precious crops and livestock.
Ironically, the floods may have saved 73-year-old Salmah Hasan and her daughter Siti Nazila Rosli, 31, after their rented house in Kampung Seberang Perak, Tongkang Yard here was gutted by a fire this morning.
It turned out that the floodwaters last week had forced them to hasten their plan to move to a new house, after the area was submerged by knee-deep floodwaters.
"I had the shock of my life after getting a call from a neighbour informing me that the house was on fire. I almost passed out.
"However, I am grateful that we were not at the house when the fire broke out, although this is a double blow for us after being struck by floods," she said.
Salmah said they had been moving their belongings to the new house in stages since last month, before deciding to stay in the new place after the area was flooded last Monday.
"We left behind a refrigerator and were planning to transfer it to the new house after the floodwaters had receded. Nevertheless, I am grateful that we were spared from the fire," said the single mother in tears.
Nazila said they had been renting the double-storey semi-wooden house for the past 11 years.
"Although this village is prone to flash floods, this is the worst as the floodwaters rose to about half a metre recently.
"I was supposed to attend a driving class today but rushed here with my mother after being alerted to the fire. My arms were shaking as I was riding the motorcycle to get here," she said.
Meanwhile, the Jalan Raja Fire and Rescue Department Station chief Wan Azizul Hakim Wan Jaafar said they took about 20 minutes to control the flames from spreading to nearby houses.
"The fire spread very fast due to the upper wooden floor, but fortunately we managed to control the flames from spreading to adjacent houses," he said.
Azizul said the cause of the fire and the extent of losses were still being investigated.
Kedah Regional Development Authority (Keda) general manager Ismasuhaimi Shariff, who happened to be distributing aid to flood victims in the area, presented a food basket to Salmah.
"We will look for any suitable form of additional assistance for the family," he said.