The Star Metro, Thursday September 6, 2012

Waters rise too quickly

RESIDENTS and business owners in Taman Sri Serdang spent the whole of yesterday morning cleaning up after a massive flash flood hit the area on Tuesday night.

Soggy mattresses and damaged furniture can be seen dumped outside homes while house and business owners got busy cleaning the mud and debris that had washed into their premises.

Jamek Maju restaurant owner Abdul Karim Abdul Rahman, 71, said it started raining about 5.30pm and by 6pm the water level rose rapidly in shops along Jalan 18/45.

To the rescue: Fire and Rescue officers ferrying students and residents to safety during the flash flood in Taman Sri Serdang

 

“We have had floods in this area before but it was never this bad. We could not salvage our stock in time.

“We had to throw out most of the cooked food and items such as sugar, flour and rice. Three of our refrigerators have also been damaged and we are trying to wash the mud of bottled drinks that are not damaged,” he said.

Hikmat Auto worker Rizal Zakaria said the water rose to waist level and most of the cars and machinery in the car repair shop were damaged.

“Most of us had to wait out the floods on the tables of the restaurant next door. The water didn’t subside until about 1am in the morning,” he said.

Plenty to do: Rizal cleaning up the muddy mess outside the car repair shop.

 

Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) public relations senior assistant director Asfarizal Abdul Rashid said the council had deployed about 50 personnel including Emergency Response Team officers and cleaning contractors to help with the clean-up.

“Our priority is to clean up the main roads and we will be picking up the damaged bulk items thrown out of houses and shops.

“We are also helping with the clean-up of SK Sri Serdang that has been closed for a day,” he said.

The Fire and Rescue Department, Parents-Teachers Association and residents’ association committee members were also at the school to clean up the classrooms.

Soaking wet: The shophouses along Jalan 18/45 were inundated with waist-high waters.

 

Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah said SMK Seri Indah and SJKC Serdang Baru 2 in Serdang Lama were also badly affected by the floods.

“The Fire and Rescue Department had to use boats to ferry afternoon sesion students who were still in school when the floods hit. Many cars were also damaged. MPSJ was cleaning the area in the morning,” he said.