Coming face to face with a flood situation is nothing new for Suriani Zakaria but last Sunday's ordeal was slightly different as she was forced to take a boat ride through heavy rain with her three-month-old baby boy when the water level rose above knee level.

What spurred the 33-year-old mother of three to leave and not wait any longer was the presence of snakes displaced by the rising floodwaters, in her house at Kampung Surau Putih, Bukit Setongkol in Kuantan.

After having to deal with three flood situations this year, she said as soon as she sensed that floodwaters had risen...