He informed Po that their workers’ quarters next to Xun Hup Hardware Trading Sdn Bhd in Bandar Makhota Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, was quickly filling with flood water, which was nearly up to a metre high.
The 30-year-old Po rushed over and instructed his four workers to move their personal belongings to the storeroom on the first floor of the shop.
While the shop was still relatively safe then, the rapidly rising flood waters, which reached 1.8m, soon submerged Po’s machinery and equipment at around 3am.
Things got even worse at 8am, when Sungai Long – which is less than 200m away – was breached and flood waters reached more than 2.7m.
“Everything in my store has been damaged,” said Po. “I estimate losses to be around RM800,000. I’ve lost many business documents and the workers’ personal belongings like their refrigerator and washing machine have also been damaged by the flood.
“I’m really sad, but there is nothing much I can do about it. The other businesses in the area are also faced with the same thing, and I just have to wait for the insurance adjusters to arrive.”
Po said his area saw continuous rain from Thursday to Saturday, and while such persistent downpours were not unusual, this is the first time his shop has been flooded.
While he said he has yet to receive any aid from the government, Po seemed nonchalant about the matter.
“The government has not helped. The drains in this area are always clogged, but they never come to clean it.”
Despite the monumental task of opening up his shop for business again, Po will not call it a day, after 10 years in the area. “I’ve been doing business here for a long time and I won’t move.”
Po is just one of the countless people in the Klang Valley who have seen their businesses disrupted after the torrential rain last weekend saw massive floods inundate many parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Kelantan and Terengganu are among the other states badly affected by the floods.
In Selangor, the water levels have started to recede but search and rescue operations are ongoing in the worst affected areas.
As of this morning, there were 41,000 flood evacuees in Kuala Lumpur and in seven other states.