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The Day That I Could Never Forget (The Flood)

Everyone must have their own memories about the day that they could never forget in their
life. That memories remind them of past events personally or with loved ones whether good
or bad. So, the day that I could never forget is the day when there was flooding in my
residential area. My family and I live in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam. My parents had lived
there since the bachelor days with their colleagues. After they married, they decided to buy a
ground floor apartment house and planned to continue our life in Taman Sri Muda until now.
During our stay there for about 17 years and above, Saturday (25 December 2022) was the
first time our residential area had been hit by natural disaster, which is a flood.

On the day of the incident, the weather was in good condition. The sky is clear dan
there is no sign that rain will fall. Meanwhile, only my siblings and I stayed at home because
my parents were working on that day. I was sleeping in my room while my brothers were
watching television and playing video games. Suddenly, the rain began to fall heavily for
about half an hour from noon. I woke up from sleep due to the very loud sound of thunder. At
first, I only assumed that it would only happen for a short time. So, I continued my sleep.
After a few hours, my brothers woke me up to tell me that the water level began to rise
above the drain. Without wasting time, I kept calling my parents to tell them about it. After
that, my parents rushed home. At that moment I realized one thing. It still rains even it is not
heavy. I’m starting to worry because this kind of thing is unprecedented.

My mother arrived at home a short while later. She kept requesting that I gather
essential papers and pack them in a suitcase. My younger siblings were advised to gather
additional necessities like electronics, a few outfits, and textbooks. By elevating large objects
like a television, my mother and I strive to save them. I also requested that my siblings use
black tape to hide the exposed switches and plugs. We continued to pray and hope the rain
would stop at the same moment.

Things got worse all of a sudden. The water quickly climbs in elevation. Water began
to enter the house as a result. Even more shocking was the fact that by dusk, the water had
already risen to our waists. My mother phoned my father to inquire about our next steps. He
advised us to wait because he was caught in a traffic jam at work. He unfortunately did not
succeed. He instructed us to move our belongings upstairs to the neighbor's home. I
watched my other neighbours move their belongings upstairs as we did. We were moved by
compassion as we observed some of them struggling to carry their infants and young
children while also attempting to move their goods to a secure location.

We spent the night in a home with nine other people. Given that there are homes
there that are home to more than 10 individuals, the amount can be regarded to be rather

small. Additionally, there is no electricity and the homes are fairly modest, which serves as a
safety measure for the locals during floods. So, that was one of the difficulties I, along with
other flood victims, had to deal with. Due to density and heat, our sleeping conditions were
not as comfortable. In addition, there were additional flood victims who had been yelling for
assistance for hours. Since of the scenario, I had trouble falling asleep because I felt guilty
for not being able to aid them.

My mum roused me up for breakfast the following morning. I finished my meal and
went outside to survey the scene. How shocked I was to discover that the entire ground-floor
apartment building was submerged. Due to its complete submersion, the vehicles are
likewise no longer visible. I can only make out the murky water, which is strewn with trash.
Other neighbours experienced the same surprise. They come together with one other's
families to see the unfortunate circumstances. After that, I returned home so I could take a
shower. I remember being really thankful that, despite the lack of electricity, there was still
enough food and water for our entire family at the time. We may struggle to survive the flood
catastrophe that hit our home region if those necessities are not also met.

Time seemed to be moving very slowly, almost as if it did not want to. While we may
not share the same mindset, we as sufferers of the circumstance can agree on one thing:
despite our best efforts to occupy our time with various activities, time seems to pass slowly.
Since it was so dissimilar from my prior daily routine, it was something new for me because I
used to spend my time with my smartphone on a typical day. I will watch Youtube, play video
games, communicate with my pals and other things. But for a variety of reasons, I can no
longer carry out such actions. One of them is that if my smartphone’s battery dies, I won’t be
able to recharge it due to a lack of energy. One the other hand, I must use good judgement
while managing my smartphone use so that it can be put to better use, such as in an
emergency. As a result, during the flood there is not much that can be done.

Every ugliness has a good reason behind it. On the plus side, the floods did some
good. To be honest, the neighbour’s relationship is not particularly close. We rarely greet
dan converse with each other. We will only meet on special occasions such as weddings
and thanksgiving ceremonies. Nonetheless, this natural disaster had resulted in significant
positive change. I had noticed that the community there spent more time together,
regardless of race or religion. They simply talked in order to get to know each other and
strengthen their bond. This is true not only for adults but also for children. They were
extremely active and enjoy playing with new friends. This made me smile and be grateful for
the flood because it had changed the lives of the people there.

After four days, our patience and waiting were rewarded when we saw the water
level recede. Simultaneously, we heard screams of joy from the other victims, who informed
us that some rescue personnel had entered the residential area on a boat. They distributed
food and transported flood victims to a safer location. In conclusion, that is the story of the
day that I could never forget in my life.