The great flood: heroes in the water, washouts above

[superadmin]

The great flood of 2021 indeed. Most of us haven’t seen an inundation of our cities and villages of this order for a long while, if ever. It’s been called a hundred-year flood, though we may not have to wait for another hundred years to see another one.

I was sheltering from the rain at a friend’s workshop where the water eventually rose though it quickly subsided. Enough to cause some damage certainly.

But this was nothing compared to the devastation in many other areas, and the loss of life too. Apart from what we know about the situation in the cities, there are many rural areas which are terribly hit too.

Two things stand out for me.

One is the amazing reactions of the ordinary Malaysians towards helping each other and those in need. I know of many who dropped everything and are still hard at it even now, days after the initial flooding.

Many of these people will still be at it weeks and even months later, when a lot of work will still be needed, long after the headlines have moved on.

Sure, at times it appears like an unruly circus, but with nobody to coordinate things, that is inevitable. Overall, the volunteers did, and are doing, a lot of good helping their fellow Malaysians.

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