The BandarTun Razak MIC division vice-chairman said he was asleep when he heard a loud noise and felt vibrations that shook his bed.

Thankfully, the incident had nothing to do with an earthquake.

Ganesan and other residents of Block 92 of the Sri Kota flats in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, later found out that the loud bang and subsequent vibrations were caused by a malfunctioning water tank.

The vibration, the result of water pressure and air lock in the tank and pipes led to a three-day water supply disruption to the flats' 204 units.

Block 92 has two water tanks on the rooftop but the time of the incident one was being repaired.

City Hall engineer S. Jeyabalan said the other water tank, which malfunctioned due to the pressure, was carrying two-thirds instead of its normal one-third water load.

This was because water from one tank had been by passed to the other tank when repairs were being carried out, he said during a site visit with Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho on Wednesday.

Jeyabalan said water supply resumed on Wednesday night after the tank was repaired.

"It will take at least two days for the tank to fill up," said the engineer, adding that the other tank would be repaired in a week.

Sri Kota Residents Association chairman Daud Ahmad thanked Tan and City Hall for the quick response.

Jeyabalan said although City Hall sent tankers to supply water to the affected block, it was nevertheless troublesome for residents to carry water from downstairs to the upper units.

"Young children helped their parents carry pails and pails of water and it was not an easy thing for children to do," he said.

Jeyabalan said tanks at all flats in Cheras were being serviced and cleaned periodically as City Hall was doing a survey and repairing old tanks in the area.
"Tanks at the Sri Melaka, Sri Sabah and Sri Kota flats have been serviced and old tanks replaced," he said.

At times, he added, up to 0.3m sedimentation was found in the tanks, which caused pipes to clog up.

"The increased sedimentation is either from the water source or because water is more acidic these days and the acid attacks the galvanised tanks causing it to rust," he said.