KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) must be taken to task for failing to predict the extreme rainfall episodes and for not issuing timely weather alerts which could have prepared residents for floods in Selangor.
Klang member of parliament Charles Santiago said failure to do so has resulted in the people's suffering, leaving them stranded and without food and basic supplies besides costing companies and factories millions of ringgit in losses.
"This is a serious failure on the side of the government and the Met department. They are responsible for monitoring and forecasting the weather conditions continuously nationwide.
"They should have alerted the public and activated the necessary protocols. Yet, we did not hear or see any alerts from the Met (that we could receive 700mm of rainfall on Dec 17 and 1,077 on Dec 18) before the heavy downpour on Friday that caused severe flooding in Klang and Shah Alam.
"People would not have faulted Met for saying something and then it doesn't happen because at least they will be prepared.
"But now when things happened abruptly, people find themselves caught in a difficult situation and that's when they get upset," he told the New Straits Times.
This, he said, has created a huge mess which will lead to the government forking out a huge sum for cleaning and repairing infrastructures.
Santiago said while it has stopped raining in Klang, clouds are beginning to build in some parts of Klang and the floodwaters have not receded.
"We hope there will be no heavy downpour. Floodwaters are not receding in areas like Taman Melawis, Bayu Perdana and Klang Utama so residents can't start the cleaning process.
"They will not be able to head home for another two days. Some of them are at temporary evacuation centres, others staying on the first floor of their houses and some have left Klang.
"There is a whole variety of issues but the point is water is not receding and that is really a problem."
He further said government machinery were nowhere in sight as of 4pm today and the public's call to the disaster hotlines went unanswered.
"People in Teluk Gong, for instance, were very upset because the food and aid did not arrive. They have not eaten breakfast and lunch and these include the elderly and children," he said, adding that his team has arranged meals for 10,000 people in the flood-hit areas today.
"We have so far distributed food to the affected residents in nine areas: Bayu Perdana, Melawis, Taman Setia, Palm Groove, Telok Gong, Klang Utama, Pandamaran, Pelabuhan Klang and Taman Sentosa.
"We apologise for not being able to deliver to every area, due to several factors, shortage of manpower, restaurants which are either closed or underwater, lack of 4WDs and no boats to enter the red zone.
"Nonetheless, our team will continue to mobilise and maximise the resources and manpower we have for Sunday's food distribution. We will try to reach out to more people."
Santiago advised the public to stay alert and urged the government to mobilise its machinery to help the victims.
"The flood has hit us very badly. Many families were evacuated from their homes, leaving damaged furniture and electrical appliances behind. As of now, we need donations for urgent relief items at the evacuation centres such as mineral water, dry food, facemasks, hand sanitisers, adult-sized and baby-sized clothes, diapers, sanitary towels and blankets.
"Anyone who is interested in donating these items, please contact Puspa at 012-6066114. Our office is also setting up a fundraising campaign to buy the urgent relief items for those who are at the evacuation centres and to provide cash assistance and services for cleaning, post-flood recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
"Please donate to CIMB 8600474130, MP Klang Training Centre."