Not taking chances: Since 2022, Jheane has made it a habit to stock up on food and fully-charged power banks in preparation for the year-end rainy season.
KLANG: Whenever it rains, shopkeeper T. Sargunan gets the jitters.
The memory of how he was financially devastated during the 2021 floods is still raw.
“The entire contents of my shop were wiped out and I even had to throw away the metal shelves after flood waters rose to about six feet (1.8m),” said Sargunan, 47, whose shop is in Section 26, Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam.
Notorious for flooding, the area was badly hit in the December 2021 floods, which recorded at least 14 deaths.
He said that since the upgrading work was carried out after the big floods, his neighbourhood had not been inundated whenever it rained.
“But water did come in during the heavy downpour last week and I’m getting worried,” he said.
Sargunan added that he would not be able to do much if his shop is hit as the place is too small and congested.
For homemaker Jheane Sivakumar who lives in Klang, the 2021 disaster served as a valuable lesson even though she was not as badly affected as those living in nearby Shah Alam.
“There were days when the rainfall was so heavy that we could not go out as some parts of Klang were badly flooded,” she recalled.
She said she now has a phobia that her place would be flooded and she would be trapped at home even though it may not happen at all.
Now, Jheane makes it a point to stock essential supplies in late October every year to be ready for any unforeseen incidents.
“I buy a crate of bottled water, biscuits, instant noodles, canned food and also konjac rice (which only needs to be soaked in hot water to cook) and keep them in storage until the rainy season is over,” she said.
“I also have a kettle, a small rice cooker as well as two big flasks of hot water, which I change daily, torchlights, batteries and fully- charged power banks ready.”
Mini market owner Karen Yeai, 60, whose shop is in nearby Section 25, said she was fully prepared if it were to flood again.
“We have put up some high shelves in the shop to store at least a little stock if it starts to flood again,” said Yeai, who also suffered a total loss in the 2021 flooding.
However, she said her area had not been flooded after some mitigation work was carried out.
“They have deepened the drains and do regular cleaning, so perhaps, water is able to flow smoothly instead of remaining stagnant,” she said.
For K. Subashini, the 2021 flood in Taman Sri Muda will forever be etched in her memory.
The 32-year-old telco employee said the incident was her biggest nightmare to date.
Although she has since moved from Taman Sri Muda to Bandar Rimbayu, which is not a flood-prone area, Subhashini said she would automatically prepare for the worst when it rains.
“As soon as it starts to rain, my family and I would bring bottled water and foodstuff upstairs.
“We will also fully charge our power banks,” she said.
In the 2021 floods, Subashini and her family, including her bedridden father, were trapped on the first floor of their home for three days without sufficient food and water.
Nasi campur restaurant operator Mohd Hadi Hadwan, 28, said although his shop has not been flooded since the 2021 incident, he would be extra alert whenever it started to rain.
“Like last week when it rained continuously, we had extra cars on stand-by to load and leave if the place was flooded,” he said.
Mohd Adi, who is managing the shop for his father, said he would take home movable electronic appliances daily after business hours during the rainy season.
He said the shop in Section 25, Taman Sri Muda suffered almost total damage when floodwaters gushed in and washed away tables and chairs in 2021.
“We learned a good lesson during that incident and we have put up high shelves to store things now,” he added.
