KAJANG: Residents affected by Saturday night's flash floods in Kajang and Bangi have described the flood as among the worst over the last five years.
The speed at which the flood waters rose also led to many residents being unable to save their belongings in time, leaving furniture, electrical appliances and other items damaged.
Many of those affected spent their Sunday busy scraping and washing mud from their houses and sorting out the damaged items.
One of them was Lee Ai Wen, 30, from Kampung Sungai Kantan, whose parents' house was inundated by waist-high floor waters.
Speaking to the New Straits Times, Lee said he got a call from his mother around 6.30pm. His mother had expressed concern over the heavy rain, which she feared could lead to a flood.
"I was in a meeting with some clients when I got the call. I somehow managed to reach my parents' house within an hour but by then, water had already entered the house.
"My elderly parents took whatever they could and moved it to higher areas. However, they were unable to move many of the larger items like the fridge, washing machine and sofas.
"The water level was still rising when I arrived. Fortunately, I parked my car a bit further on higher ground otherwise I'm sure that my car too would have been damaged", he said.
Lee, who works as mechanical engineering designer, said after assessing the speed at which the water was rising, he decided to get his parents out from the house.
They stayed the night at his place in Balakong.
"This morning, we returned to assess the situation. The water had fully subsided but the house is a complete mess," he said when met outside the house.
Lee said although they lived near Sungai Kantan, this was only the second massive flood to have hit the area in 10 years.
"Whenever it rains, the river would normally fill up to the brim but it doesn't overflow. This was a rare situation for us.
"I'm not sure how are we going to fix this place but for now, I think it's better that my parents come stay with me," he said.
Shamsudin Jaslan, 59, who lived nearby , said the water level rose very quickly to the extent that they didn't have time to save many belongings.
"We didn't think the water level would rise to that extent. After noticing that the rain wasn't about to let up, my wife, daughter and I just grabbed our important documents and left the house at almost 7.45pm.
"We saw a rescue team going from house to house advising people to relocate to a relief centre at Batu 9 and took us there," said the retiree.
He said the rain only stopped past midnight.
"The flood waters had subsided at most places by then but we were advised against going back fearing that it might pour again."
Samsudin said he and the family only returned this morning and immediately began cleaning their house.
As of 5pm, the family was still cleaning the house and sorting out appliances which were damaged.
Shamsudin estimated damages to be in the range of RM10,000, which included his Honda C70 motorcycle.
The flash flood in Kajang town, which reached almost three metres, is believed to have been largely caused by the river breaking its banks.
This marks the first major flood this year for Kajang folk after river expansion works had been carried out in 2017.
Meanwhile, Balakong assemblyman, Wong Siew Ki who also visited some of the flood-hit areas on Saturday night.
She said among the badly-affected areas included Medan Sate, Metro Kajang, Taman Kajang Baru, Sri Kajang, Taman Indah, Sungai Chua, Jalan Mendaling, Kajang, Jalan Reko, Taman Sri Indah, Taman Sri Reko and Taman Pasir Emas, among others.
"I was alerted by some residents about 7pm. By then, the water level had already rose above the knee. Council officials were already making relief centre arrangements but fortunately, the rain stopped soon after, allowing the water to slowly subside," she said.
Wong said some residents were however forced to relocate to relief centres when heavy rain started again an hour later.
"As of 10pm yesterday, three flood relief centres at Dewan Sungai Sekamat, Balai Raya Batu 10 Cheras and Balai Raya Kampung Batu 13 were opened to house affected residents temporarily," she said.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hafisham Mohd Noor said the situation in Kajang and Bangi had improved several hours after yesterday evening's heavy rain.
"By midnight, the floods at most affected areas had subsided. However, some places took a bit longer where electricity supply was disrupted," he said.
In Sepang however, the situation was similarly grim with 137 residents evacuated to temporary relief centres.
Firemen from the Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya stations helped rescue and relocate 33 people from floods at Kampung Chemperai, Dengkil and another 81 from Kampung Jenderam Hilir about 5am today.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department had previously cautioned of a wet spell which is forecasted to last until the end of the month.