Having lived through flash floods before, residents of Kampung Melayu Subang in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, thought they were ready.
Some kept important documents within reach, while others raised furniture on bricks and one even built a bund around his home; yet floodwaters still poured into their houses after a series of thunderstorms earlier this week.
Technician Muhamad Saifulnizam Mohamad Bakhtiar, 41, was at work when he received a distress call from his eldest daughter at 4pm on Monday, telling him that floodwaters were rising inside their home.
Alarmed, he ordered his 14-year-old daughter to retrieve a box of important documents before seeking shelter with her younger siblings, aged 10 and seven.
“It was not our first experience with flash floods, so I was prepared.
“However, my main concern was my children’s safety,” he said, adding that his wife, a nurse, was away at work.
Muhamad Saifulnizam and his family, who moved to the area last year, were among more than 500 households affected by floods following heavy rain earlier this week in several areas around Selangor, particularly Kampung Melayu Subang, Paya Jaras, Rawang and parts of Shah Alam.
The banks of the Sungai Pelempas, near Kampung Melayu Subang, overflowed again in the early hours of Tuesday morning, inundating homes barely recovering from the first wave of flooding the day before.
Muhamad Saifulnizam’s family sought shelter at the Dewan Siantan flood relief centre in Sungai Buloh operated by the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Recounting the ordeal, Muhamad Saifulnizam said he rushed home from his workplace in Subang, only to find his children standing in knee-deep floodwaters along the main road.
“Thankfully, a neighbour helped look after them. They also managed to rescue our cat.
“I drove home as fast as I could, but traffic congestion slowed me down,” he said, adding that the floodwaters took about three hours to recede.
His wife Hamidah Abd Hamid, 41, said the children had yet to return to school following the incident.
“All their textbooks and school uniforms were destroyed.
“The school headmaster visited yesterday to express concern,” she said.
JKM officer Ana Basharuddin said the centre, one of several housing flood victims, currently had 26 people from six families.
“We initially had eight families, but two have since moved out.
“Those staying here are provided with mattresses, prayer attire, tents and other basic essentials.”
A check around Jalan PKNS, where most of the flood-stricken homes were located, found residents busy clearing the debris left behind.
Several lorries were seen collecting bulky waste such as damaged furniture and mattresses.
A resident, who identified herself only as Sharifah, 54, said her husband had built a perimeter bund around their house two days before the incident in an attempt to prevent floodwaters from entering.
“We have experienced flooding before, so we thought of coming up with a solution.
“But the bund was not high enough and floodwaters still overflowed into our home,” she said.
Recounting the incident, the housewife said she was asleep when she heard rain pounding on the roof.
“My husband was away in Negri Sembilan on a work trip, while my children were at university.
“I noticed a flurry of panicked messages in the residents’ chat group, urging everyone to evacuate,” she said.
Sharifah called on the authorities to formulate long-term measures to address the recurring floods in the area.
“My husband and I did everything we could to prepare, including placing our furniture on bricks to keep them above floor level.
“But there is only so much we can do. We need a more comprehensive plan to deal with this,” she said.
In a statement, Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) said cleanup operations were ongoing in flood-affected areas.
Besides Kampung Melayu Subang, the affected locations included Kampung Kubu Gajah and Persiaran Metafasa.
“Cleanup operations in Kampung Melayu Subang and Kampung Kubu Gajah are being carried out by KDEB Waste Management.
“Thirteen mobile roll-on roll-off (RoRo) bins and five static ones are being deployed for the operations,” it said, adding that it was also clearing drains along Persiaran Metafasa.
Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim had said that the bund along Sungai Pelempas would be raised up to 1m to prevent water from spilling into neighbouring homes during downpours.
Authorities also plan to install pumps in high risk areas as part of short-term measures while longer-term flood mitigation plans take shape, he said.
