Teh tarik oblivion

Segamat was, some of you may know, on the front page of Star two days in a row for its floods, but today, the Taiwan quake hit the headlines. Its not a good thing really for it just means another disaster in a neverending chain of catastrophes and unrest around the globe, but it does send some relief because it means the bad flood hits are officially over.

Its been one week since the waters rose. I thought itd be nice to blog about the hoo-hah. It is after all, something worth remembering and being nostalgic one day. Yeah people think yada yada its just a flood. I used to think so too, and went around in Dad's jeep checking out floods in Sgt when we were younger.

Until it hits your home.

The flood this time was nothing ever experienced before in the town of Sgt. Waters raised to almost second levels of most homes, and well it is safe to say the real 'kampung' areas were completely submerged.

For my home, the water was 2 feet. With us kids being in KL when it all happened, Mom told us detailed stories of what happened later on. The whole drama started with Mom waking up at 1am and peeking out the window and seeing a vast of 'teh tarik' sea. The first thing she thought of was Pepper the dog. She woke dad up whilst trotting down to rescue pepper. She found the mutt perched on the steps of the front door, with her legs already starting to get submerged. So the next few hours followed with plenty of hoisting and jostling and pushing to bring the furniture up to the 2nd split level of the dining area. J and her family who happened to be staying over for the nite, were the best assistants, according to Mom!

While all this was happening Mom and Dad did not notify us. We spent a good half of the morning trying to reach them, and starting to panic when they were uncontactable. I finally managed to ring J's dad's HP. But that didnt quell the fear and worry lurking in my heart over my parents being stuck from the dining area onwards without the phone line, electricity or water supply. Throughout the day and the next day continuing, i was filled with worry. Sis was practically delirious at work calling everyone up to find out what was going on. And we still could not get back to Sgt and make sure my parents were taken care of, especially stubborn old Dad who thinks he's invincible at 63.

Screw the car, furniture or all the material fancies. I just wanted my parents, and everyone else in Sgt, safe.

Lo and behold, the water dwindled off and we headed back to be rejoined with my parents. Although Sgt initially looked like a battle field with the broken roads and rubbish strewn, the worst is over and life continues.

Its sad really. Many people had huge losses and i feel 'em.

The end result for my home? The kois swam off (how nice for them), the dog almost drowned, the cars were soaked! And sadly, the precious olden day photographs of my ancestors were half washed off and unintelligible.

But hey, im just glad Parents are safe. Thats worth popping the cork for i say!

And there are lessons to be learnt from all this hoo-hah. Life is precious, for one. And family is irreplacable. And in times of adversity, everyone unites and color, status and religion dont matter (well at least it didnt matter to us - unfortunately it still mattered to some fools). But mostly, you realise who your true friends are. the ones who really cared.

And finally, folks, always choose a home as high as possible!!