PETALING JAYA: It was a day when even the rescuers could not keep up. The skies opened on Friday and by evening, floods had left towns and villagers inundated, sending thousands to higher ground and relief centres.
Selangor had it the worst, with 308mm of rain on Saturday, the highest ever. The last time the state hit a record high, it peaked at 180mm.
In some areas, the water level reached 4.5m.
The Fire and Rescue Department had its hands full responding to calls for help.
“There were so many calls that we could not respond to every one of them,” said the director of the department in Selangor, SAC Norazam Khamis.
A resident of Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam, who wished to be known only as Ganesh, said the ground floor of his two-storey house was entirely submerged.
“When it reached chest-high at 9pm, I decided to take my three children and my elderly mother to my in-law’s place to take shelter,” he said, adding that the area had frequently been hit by flash floods.
“I have complained to the local authorities many times but I only get a myriad of technical answers,” he told theSun.
According to the Public Infobanjir website that tracks floods, the water level in six states exceeded the “Danger” point on Saturday. Apart from Selangor, the other states were Pahang, Kelantan, Perak, Terengganu and Malacca.
In Johor, Negri Sembilan, Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur, floodwaters exceeded the “Alert” level.
Norazam said teams were sent to affected areas as soon as calls were received, especially in the Hulu Langat and Shah Alam districts, which were the most badly hit.
Homes in low-lying areas were submerged and some cars were swept off the road by floodwaters.
As of noon yesterday, more than 21,000 people had been evacuated to relief centres.
Those who failed to get help from the authorities ended up taking shelter on the roofs of their homes.
On Saturday, residents in Taman Sri Nanding in Hulu Langat waited for several hours on the roof of a surau before help arrived.
In Puchong, Kampung Batu 12 head Abd Rashid Abd Shukor said the 600 residents in his and five other villages were forced to head for Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Indah for shelter.
“The evacuation began at 10pm on Saturday. We used several four-wheel drive vehicles and three boats to ferry the villagers to the school,” he said, adding that the operation was conducted until 6am yesterday.
Abd Rashid said several non-governmental organisations chipped in with food and helped the villagers move back home when the floodwaters receded yesterday.
Creative content producer Arif Mirza tweeted that he was driving home to Klang from Subang Jaya on Saturday evening when he was caught for hours in traffic.
“I was on the Federal Highway at around 6.30pm. The traffic was not moving and I saw several cars heading towards a petrol station.”
Arif said he decided to take an alternative route through Batu Tiga but the road was closed as the water level had risen above a metre. He then made a detour through Glenmarie and reached Section 13 in Shah Alam, where the traffic had also grounded to a stop.
“It was 11pm by then, and I decided to spend the night in my car.”
Arif said he ended up spending 15 hours trying to get to Klang from Subang Jaya, a drive that would normally take less than an hour.
But there may be more flooding, and the public has been advised to brace for heavy rain in the next few days.
According to the Meteorological Department, the wet weather is expected to continue until Wednesday in several states in the peninsula.
