.JPG "Ivan Loh cleans his mud-filled shop after floodwaters recede in Taman Sri Nanding, Hulu Langat December 21, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Shafwan Zaidon")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Shoe salesman Ivan Loh was using a floor scraper to clear the caked-on mud off his shop front when Malay Mail visited flood-hit Taman Sri Nanding in Hulu Langat, Selangor yesterday.
The bespectacled 50-year-old had his trousers rolled up to his knees and his sock-covered feet encased in bright yellow boots while arranging some RM70,000 worth of soiled goods outside the store to be cleaned up and sold for cheap later.
“It would've been worse had the water risen more than two feet. Even then, everything is damaged except for the computer,” he sighed in exhaustion.
Loh said the residents are used to flash floods in the area. But this time, the non-stop rain over two days caused widespread flooding across the peninsula.
“Usually if there’s a flood, the water will flow away. But in this case, the water flow was so rapid and fast that it formed a whirlpool inside the shop which sucked the shoes into it, damaging the walls and destroying all the furniture,” Loh recounted.
“I sincerely hope we can find a solution to the flood issue as I feel if we get subsidies from the government once disaster hits, it does not mitigate the bigger issue,” he added.
In highly-populated Selangor, Hulu Langat, Klang and the state capital of Shah Alam bore the brunt of the disaster.
The neighbourhoods of Taman Sri Muda and Taman Sri Nanding saw the flood waters rise to the third-storey, forcing residents to climb up to their rooftops, where many stayed overnight in the cold and the dark, watching their cars and homes disappear under muddy waters.
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Those who lived in single-storey houses were forced to flee and seek shelter elsewhere. One of those was Murugian Shanmugam who shared a house with six others in Taman Sri Nanding.
“Within 30 minutes on Sunday, the water rose to my chest and we had to evacuate to my friend’s house in the neighbouring taman,” the 57-year-old told Malay Mail.
Murugiah said that when heavy rains fell in Taman Sri Nanding previously, the water would seep into his low-lying house and flow out into the huge drainage system at the back.
This time, the volume of rain was too much for the drains to cope. They overflowed back into the houses nearby, forming mini whirlpools like the one in Loh’s shoe shop, sucking all the furniture and kitchen appliances into its depths and down the drains.
“All our cars are totalled and as you can see, everything inside is damaged. If possible it would be nice to have some pillows and maybe a bed to sleep on. Some clothes would be nice too,” Murugiah said.
The aftermath of the flood left the entire Taman Sri Nanding area covered in mud two inches thick.
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The hot sun baked the sludge left in and on top of the submerged vehicles parked every which way and left a stink that will take a long while more to dissipate.
Several roads had also caved in, and were filled with fallen cars.
Siti Fatimah Jantan, another long-time Taman Sri Nanding resident, said a disaster of this scale could be predicted from way back.
The kindergarten teacher said there was an area behind their house that was originally farmland but indiscriminate development had caused congestion and soil erosion, leading to the present mess.
She told Malay Mail that Taman Sri Nanding had about 1,500 houses in total. When development started, the authorities razed her make-shift garage in front of her house
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According to Siti, it was done so that a bridge could be built to connect her street to another road of 30 houses for the “rich people”.
“What happened is now this road is so congested as it is the only way in and out. Even you should know that in a taman how can you have one road in and out?
“I’m not a VIP or ‘Datuk’ or ‘Tan Sri’, so no one listens to me, right? As long as you are in power or some leader, then you can do whatever you want, isn't it?” she said.
Siti said she tried telling the local government council, Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKJ), about the dangers of overdevelopment but was given a hostile reception.
“The MPKJ guys said ‘You better not come here and disturb us and mind your own business’. They were aggressive with me.
“Now things have gotten so bad with the floods and I strongly blame this development. It was highlighted five years ago and till now nothing happened ‘cause some VIP is probably owning this.
“As for this flooding, it’s going to take a long time to clean up the house,” Siti said.
She claimed there had been “volunteers” who visited the area, but only to take “selfies”.
Malay Mail met some volunteers from outstation while in the area.
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Farmer Akmal Hafiz, 34, said he and eight other co-workers from Johor had driven all the way up after learning that the Selangor house belonging to their employer’s ageing in-laws was flooded.
He said they have been helping to clean the property and the area since 5pm last Sunday.
“Would be nice to have some drinking water as the water flow’s pretty weak and getting in and out is a huge hassle,” he said when asked what he felt the neighbourhood most urgently needed in the aftermath of the floods.
The water pressure in the area was pretty low during our visit. Some house owners resorted to using spades to shovel the dirt and debris out of their homes.
The drains in front of the houses were also filled with fallen tree branches, leaves and garbage.
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The residents Malay Mail encountered were anxious to wash out the clogged drains. They feared a bigger disaster might happen next if another downpour occurred in the next few days.
Many residents also asked the authorities to provide portable loos, saying that running water was hard to get.
Akmal also said the mud-caked damaged cars littering the narrow roads needed to be moved so a full-scale clean-up could be carried out. Right now, the engines are all damaged. Their owners have not been able to start the cars.
“Would be good to have some garbage bins or trucks too. The rubbish is piling up and a lot of electronic goods are unusable so we're gonna need lots of recycling activities here,” he added.
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Office worker Citrine Wong, who was busy clearing her damaged house of sludge, was at a loss when approached by Malay Mail on what assistance she would like to receive, saying she didn’t even know where to start.
“You ask me what the authorities can do, I also don't know how to answer that,” she said.
She said it would take her at least a week to clean up her house. For the time being, her immediate thoughts were to tackle things one at a time like deciding where she would sleep next.
Currently, she is depending on the kindness of friends and family to provide a place to stay, but is worried that she may be putting them out too much.
“And what work? How to go to work? No vehicles, roads also can't use as the cars have lined up the streets and we can't move them away,” she lamented.
