KUALA LUMPUR: Flood victims want the authorities to be accountable and take responsibility for the poor handling and coordination of aid for those affected.
Frustrated flood victim Wan Mohd Zaki Wan Daud said many people could have been rescued sooner had there been effective communications between the authorities and the people.
The 58-year-old from Batu Tiga, Shah Alam, said the lack of proper coordination between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Selangor Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and the people on Dec 19 contributed to the large scale devastation wrought by the flood.
"Selangor DID had released water from the Klang Gate dam on Dec 19. There were no other alerts, apart from sirens to signal rising waters.
"Although we understand that the water must be released as it had breached the danger mark, the authorities should do more than just sound the sirens.
"They should deploy police to the ground, and announce to residents that water had been released, and evacuate the people at the very least," he said.
Wan Mohd Zaki, who was stranded with his wife on the second storey of their house without food for a day, said the authorities must come up with a better alert system as part of disaster management in the future.
"They can't just use sirens. They must deploy the police to residential areas and alert the people. There must be a sense of urgency.
"Nadma too must play a part and come up with a proper evacuation plan for residents.
"People need to know where they can go for shelter and safety. If that had been done, I'm quite positive that the number of fatalities would not be as high," he said.
He suffered around RM100,000 losses in the flood as three of his cars were submerged.
He urged Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad to resign.
"One family will suffer an average RM50,000 to RM60,000 loss due to the flood. Those who are already living from hand to mouth will have difficulties rebuilding their lives.
"Somebody needs to take responsibility and come up with better management and coordination to ensure that such poor handling of a disaster does not recur.
"We can't afford to have this happen again, or worse on an even bigger scale in future. Too many lives have been lost.
"He needs to take responsibility. His lack of coordination and sense of urgency has led to deaths. Abdul Latiff should step down," he said.
A disappointed flood victim from Kampung Tengah, Puchong, who wanted to be known only as Mia said authorities should stop making 'empty visits' to affected areas during disasters.
The 23-year-old graphic designer recalled her traumatic experience of being stranded with 31 others, including her wheelchair-bound grandmother, small kids and babies in her neighbours' house during the flood.
"We were stranded in the dark for one night on Saturday (Dec 18). Help came the next morning (Dec 19), and we prioritise them (the rescue) to ferrying the elderly and the small children first.
"The next rescue boat came to get us around 4pm the same day, after we have spent almost hours standing in the middle of the road, with water rising above our waist level.
"Even then it was a volunteer rescue boat, and not from the authorities. We were truly disappointed with the way this disaster was managed," she said.
Mia said those in power should always remember that just because a disaster does not strike them, it does not mean that it never will.
Sharing her disappointment was a 24-year old victim from Seksyen 25, Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, who wanted to be known only as Raynu.
The digital marketer said the post-flood residential area now looked like a war zone, with people losing almost everything they own.
"I've lost my home, the one I've occupied for the past 24 years. Everything is ruined.
"I think it is pretty much clear to the entire nation that there was zero flood management from any authority in power.
"We witnessed that Malaysians saving fellow Malaysians since last weekend, relentlessly. To this, I'm so grateful as they are still helping us with cleaning, food, aid and so on.
"I'm devastated that many had to lose their lives due to the incompetent management by the higher-ups," she said, adding that the government should compensate and help the people as they had lost everything.