Flood???

It's end of March! And we're actually entertaining worries of flood. In my years here, never have we thought of flood at this time of the year or experienced one! And hope not to. Flood was always a year end issue, a problem which some of us who live in the lower lying areas have to reckon with.

But lately, the weather has gone all unpredictable. We are reading of flood in Southern Thailand, now... during this supposedly dry season. It's normal to expect some rain during the Qing Ming (All Souls' Day) Jie. But to have torrential rains is something totally unnerving, so soon after the last flood, barely 5 months ago.

The phobia is there. News tend to take on a life of their own and become bigger. News of more places flooded, even though they are in the low lying areas send us into worry mode.

It's been raining for 2 consecutive days. We had almost 80mm of rain just yesterday, non-stop raining. Today, there was a welcomed break in the afternoon. News has it that 21 schools were closed in Perlis today because of rising waters. Some low lying areas in Changlun are also flooded. Most of us further downstream get a little flustered because in the last flood, the one more than 5 years ago, water travelled from Southern Thailand to Kangar, Jitra and then Alor Setar.

Dark skies.... I used to like rain a lot. These days, dark skies send dark worries, not only to me but to many around here too... The authorities say this is the effect of La Nina. I think we're looking at the consequences of our own doing. Global warming effects have now descended on us...