Residents caught unawares
27/02/2007 The Star

SHAH ALAM: Zulkifli Abu Bakar was sleeping soundly when the sound of dripping water woke him up.

The 42-year-old businessman living in Taman TTDI Jaya also noticed that his bed was swaying a little.

When he lowered his feet, he felt cold water and it was then that he realised his whole bedroom was flooded. He could not see clearly as there was no electricity.

He quickly alerted his wife and two of his daughters and got them out of the house, becoming one of 4,000 households in the Klang Valley to be affected by the worst floods to hit the region.

“When we got out, we saw crowds of people leaving their houses and running for safety,” he added.

Zulkifli had just moved in last November and had never experienced anything like this.

“I heard my neighbours say that there have been floods here before but nothing as bad as this. I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt,” he said, adding that the water had risen to 1.8m at 7am.

In another house nearby, the sight of her mother's slippers floating away stuck in the mind of six-year-old Juliana Jacob more than anything else.

She was also upset that her beloved piano was submerged in water.

“My piano and theory books are all under water. Luckily, my practical books are still okay,” she said.

Her mother, Flora, had been up since 3.30am when the heavy rain started.

“By 6am, the water started to come in,” she said.

To get out of their house, her maid had to dive underwater to open the lock of their gate.

Her geologist husband, Nicholas Jacob, who was in Sabah, immediately took the first flight back when he heard about the incident.

“I don’t even know if I can make any insurance claims for my house, my car and my belongings,” he said.

Jacob said he was unhappy about the lack of prior warning from the authorities.

“There is a flood warning siren just metres away from my house but it was not triggered at all,” he added.

The family would spend the night in a nearby clinic because Jacob was afraid that if he left the area, his house could be looted.

A 36-year-old consultant, who said this was the worst flood he had experienced in six years living in the area, said the inhabitants of the area always found themselves stranded whenever floods occurred.

“There are no roads leading out of the area which are not underwater,” he said.

Flooding also affected those living in the Perdana Apartments next to the Giant Hypermarket in Section 13 here.

Nazarullah Sekawi, 20, knew the area was prone to flooding but did not expect to be so unlucky.

The Concorde Hotel Shah Alam houseman said this was the second time his car had been damaged by floods.

“This is the fifth flood in two months. I did not manage to save my car this time because I was asleep,” he said.

Nearby, car sales executive Hishamuddin Mohd Nawi, 32, had a shock of his life when he turned up at his car showroom and saw 30 Proton and 20 Perodua cars submerged in water.

“The water current was so powerful that it moved the cars,” he said.

Residents from affected areas also had to fend off “unwanted visitors” which came with the water.

Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association chairman K. Balasupramaniam said his volunteers, who were helping flood victims, caught a cobra.

Other residents were seen killing centipedes and cockroaches.