The East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia has always been forced to almost a standstill during the monsoon season which spans from the month of November to the month of March.
During these months many economic activites along the coast have to be abandoned and the people will resort to other means of livelihood until the season is over. Fishermen will mend their boats and nets whereas restaurants or other smaller outlets will remove their furniture or fixtures to prevent them from being blown off by the strong monsoon winds. There is totally no tourist who dare visit the beaches here during the heavy rains because of the montrosity of the floods.
When my father was working in the Maran jungle, he had heard about the floods and Maran was not spared. Before the onset of the bad weather, my father had to make specific preparations. First he had to make sure there would be zero activity if there was any untoward announcement from the meteorological station or any warning from the Forest Rangers. He had anticipated stoppage of work in the jungle in November for an indefinite period until the next year but what he did not anticipate was that the scale of destruction of the said natural disaster..
The second thing he had to do in the beginning of the year , long before they encountered the floods, was to build a high watch tower. This was necessary because of the danger of forest fires. Someone had to be stationed at the tower to watch out for rising smoke and to sound the alarm. He had put Old Uncle Phang there, a friend of my grandfather whom he trusted for his no nonsensical attitude. I remember my father telling me about the strict fire safety precautions at the camp.
The building of the watch tower had my father extremely stressed. The workers had been deliberately not obeying orders. My father had instructed higher pillars and a stronger foundation but they were trying to do otherwise. They saw no reason why he had to build such a strong structure when after the contract they were going to abandon the place. Finally after my father's insistence and under his close supervision, the structure was finished and it looked sturdy and grand. My father heard some of them making fun of it but he still thought he was very right in doing his way.
The month of November was really depressing for my father. He was calculating his losses. Food supplies at the camp ran low and he had to ask my mother for some money to help out. Some of the workers had families to feed and they needed to be paid promptly every week. This was the beggining of many bad things to happen. It had been drizzling for days. The workers had to build a fire to dry the clothes. They had to be careful and always be on the alert. My father's temper was bad and the workers were scolded really bad. It was no wonder they tried to put him down when they had the chance. One evening a worker came rushing back to camp with bad news. The forest ranger sent news that they had better leave camp for the rivers nearby were overdlowing the banks and the villages were already flooded. The waters was rising but while they were busy moving the expensive equipment up the tower and some to higher places they did not notice the strength of the current.
Suddenly the flood waters rose almost a foot in less than a minute. Every one at camp left the ground and climbed up the watch tower. They could see the Land Rover being carried away by the strong current.
The bicycles, motorbikes, pots, kuali, kettle, plates and cups were all gone but no human is put into danger. The water was rising and rising , and this put every one up in the watch in much uneasiness. They could see now only the roof of the workers' quarters and very soon, even the roof was submerged. At that time they could feel vibrations on the watch tower and they had never felt death so close. The workers asked my father if the watch tower could hold.on. They did not want to die without biding their families goodbye. Some of the younger workers were almost crying. 'If you had built this watch tower the way you wanted, you would have long disappeared into the water and gone into the South China Sea!'
Didn't you realise why I had insisted on building a strong one? I don't know too, how bad the floods here are. The Forest Rangers told me that the water can rise as high as a house and if it is so, don't you think the force of the water will be very great? Damn it! Why were we told so late about the broken river banks?
Up to a certain point the water level never rose again. Every one was relieved because after the maximum height, the water started receding instead. Silent prayers were said. It took almost three full days for the water to subside to a safe level for people to be moving around again. Rescuers came in motorboats and slowly the whole camp was vacated. It took another two days before everybody were able to reach their homes. The brush with death story was on the lips of the villagers when the workers related about how their lives were saved by the watch tower.
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