Floods: F&B operators say damage and losses have been devastating

After nearly four days, Muneer has finally been able to see his restaurant properly and he says nearly everything in it has been totally wrecked. — MOHAMED SHARAFATH MUNEER

Since the start of the pandemic, Clifford Too’s frozen yoghurt brand Moo Cow has taken a severe hit. The brand – which specalises in yoghurt products like ice-cream and drinks used to have over 30 outlets, but the pandemic forced Too to close many of them and switch focus to supplying these products to supermarkets instead.

This last weekend, his business suffered another blow when his production facility along Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur was badly damaged by the recent floods in the Klang Valley.

“The water levels came up very fast. Around 11.15pm, the water level was around the height of half of a car tyre. In 30 minutes, it was knee-high. In 45 minutes, the cars on the road were gone and the water levels had come up to four feet!” says Too.

According to Too, water levels rose dramatically within 45 minutes, which is why all the heavy equipment couldn't be salvaged. — CLIFFORD TOO

Anticipating the worst, Too had asked his employees to come back to work around 9pm to start moving the most expensive equipment to the second and third floors. Some items – like the refrigerator – could not be moved and ended up being completely damaged.

“Oh, there is a lot of damage. Our cold room was totally flooded and the water made its way to the finished product, so we had to throw all the yoghurt away,” he says.

For others, the situation has been even more dire. Restoran Muneer is in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam and has been at the epicentre of the devastating floods.

“On Saturday at 6.30pm, the rain was at knee-level. So I told my staff to turn off the main switch and go home (staff quarters) because the water level was getting higher and higher. I knew how dangerous it was so I told them, ‘It doesn’t matter if you cannot close the shop properly. I don’t care – just save your lives!’” says Mohamed Sharafath Muneer, the owner of Restoran Muneer

“The staff took some food from the restaurant and went to their house, which is nearby. The first floor was already flooded, so they stayed upstairs.

Flood waters began rising fast, so Muneer asked his staff to leave quickly before it got worse. — MOHAMED SHARAFATH MUNEER

“The next day, with no help in sight, four or five of them swam to the restaurant as they were really hungry. As cars were by then submerged under water, it was a dangerous swim and many of them accidentally hit cars and even lorries on their way to the restaurant,” says Muneer.

When the staff reached the restaurant, they discovered that nearly everything was underwater as water levels had reached the height of the ceiling fan!

Over the next few days – while waiting for water levels to subside (even till yesterday, the water was at chest-level), kind-hearted Muneer drove over every day to deliver food and other supplies to his staff, who would swim over to collect it from him.

Assessing the damage

Too and his team have spent the past few days cleaning up the place and disinfecting it.

“There was so much mud everywhere and even after cleaning it, the stench was unbearable. We had to clean it three or four times and disinfect it a few times,” he says.

Having cleaned his entire facility, Too tried to restart production today but discovered that two of his water pumps are no longer working, which means an even longer production delay.

“Luckily, this week we don’t have any orders from supermarkets so we still have a buffer, but this week if we don’t start production, everything will be delayed.

“And the long-term damages are still not clear. Like our pump was working yesterday but today it is not working, so I think it will take time to estimate the total damages caused by the flood,” says Too.

Muneer is now facing losses of over RM400,000 and is at his wits' end on how to salvage his business. — MOHAMED SHARAFATH MUNEER

Muneer meanwhile has finally been able to discover the true extent of the damage to his restaurant, and he now realises the entire eatery has been completely damaged to the point that most items are unsalvageable. He estimates his total losses now to be somewhere in the region of RM300,000.

“We still cannot start the business. For me, the main point was saving the lives of the workers. But since water levels rose so quickly and we couldn’t close the shop properly – everything was destroyed.

“My chairs and tables are completely damaged, my icebox, computer, cameras, the entire ordering system – everything is all gone from the restaurant. I don’t know what to do,” says a clearly distraught Muneer.