Lai, 67, still recalls with perfect clarity the icy cold water which gushed into her house and the chaos that took place when the town lost its electricity that night.

“I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of people shouting and calling out to their neighbours to save themselves,” she said.

“We live in a double-storey house. My first thought was to run upstairs, but the fire and rescue volunteers told us to run to higher ground, towards the hilly areas.”

Water was rising around them, and had hit waist-height before she and her family could decide which way to go.

In the midst of the chaos, she said, her biggest fear was for her six grandchildren.

“We had no choice but to go back and forth, carrying them one by one to higher ground.”

But not everyone in the town survived the night of Oct 22, 2013. Four people died, while over 100 homes and vehicles were damaged by the water and mud which gushed through the valley after water was released from the Sultan Abu Bakar Hydroelectric Dam.

It was only on Dec 11, 2018, five long years later, that the residents received justice. The Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court ruling that Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) was responsible for the flash floods which hit the valley that night.

Lai, who still lives in Bertam Valley with her husband, said they had considered moving to higher ground after the flood but could not afford to do so.

“After what happened, many of us are constantly on guard and ready to run for safety whenever there is heavy rainfall.

“I, for one, am traumatised for life. I don’t think I can ever forget that horrible tragedy,” she said.

Until today, water marks from the flood are still visible on the walls of houses in Bertam Valley.

A resident who asked to remain anonymous said the flood would not have happened if TNB hadn’t released so much water from the dam.

“The first release at 12.10am did not pose any threat,” the resident said. “However, when the second release came at 1am, I knew the village could not take it.

“Before I could digest the second release, the third release came at 2.45am and I knew the village was doomed.”

The resident described to FMT the chaos that took place that night.

“In the darkness, there was screaming, water gushing, and clanking noises from cars hitting against each other.

“The stronger ones were helping the elderly get to safety. Some held on to their children while soaking in cold water.”

For those who lived in low-lying parts of the town, water had reached neck-level before they were rescued.

A food shop owner told FMT by the time she woke up that night, the entire ground floor of her shop lot was flooded.

“I only woke up when the fridge fell over after being pushed by the flood waters,” she said.

But she and her family were trapped as the currents had pushed six cars against the shop lot entrance.

“Our only choice was to run back upstairs. We didn’t sleep the whole night through. We just watched the water flow past our home, waiting for help.”

She said it took over a month for the residents to clean their homes.

“By the time the water subsided the next morning, 30cm of mud had accumulated on our shop floor.

“Our neighbour, who runs a sundry shop, lost about RM100,000 worth of goods. Water washed through the shop shutters and rose in a matter of seconds,” she said, adding that the sundry shop had been the first in the village and was more than 60 years old.

She said they, too, had entertained thoughts of moving somewhere else.

“I don’t think anyone would want to continue staying here if they could afford to move out.”

Until now, she claimed, they had not received any compensation for their losses.

“You can paint over the flood water stains, but you cannot erase our memories of the flood.”

Wong Seng Yee, who is running as an independent candidate in the Cameron Highlands by-election on Jan 26, said many of the residents still suffered emotionally as well as financially from the flood.

“The Malay families who once lived along the riverbank were relocated to about 10km away,” he told FMT. “They are suffering because they are very poor and do not have transportation to travel from home to work.

“I met one of them, and I found out that three families have shifted nearer to the town but are living in one house.”

Wong, who lives in Bertam Valley himself, was the secretary of the flood relief committee.

He was not home when the flood waters hit the town as his house was being renovated at the time.

“But I returned to the town to help as much as I could when I heard what had happened.

“We eventually set up a committee to raise funds for the people who were badly affected.”

Although the residents had won their suit against TNB, he said, there was always a possibility that the utility company would appeal.

“I hope they don’t. These people have suffered enough over the past five years. They deserve to receive their compensation so that they can move on with their lives.”