Geared up: Firemen checking rescue boats in anticipation of floods in Shah Alam. — Bernama
KLANG: Whenever it rains, mother-of-three Nordiana Muda feels she is about to suffer an anxiety attack.
“If it rains late at night, I usually stay awake as I feel that I may need to make a quick escape with my family if the inevitable happens again,’’ said the stay-at-home mum.
During last year’s flooding here, Nordiana was stuck in her rented home in Kampung Baru Hicom with her family with no food and little water.
She had also delivered her youngest child just 25 days before the flooding.
“I still cannot forget the incident as there are stark reminders in my home which now has no furniture as what we had were all destroyed by floodwater,’’ said Nordiana.
She said her husband, who is a factory worker, could only afford to replace a few electrical items such as a refrigerator, washing machine and other essentials.
“We are still not able to replace our destroyed furniture, and if an equally severe flooding happens again this year, it will be a real tragedy for us as we have yet to recover from the previous one,’’ she added.
Nordiana said her family is forced to remain in their RM600 monthly rented home as they cannot afford to rent a better property or buy their own place.
Financial services company executive Subashini Karunakaran recalled how she was trapped with her mother, two siblings and a paralysed father at their home in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, last December.
Her father T. Karunakaran, 57, passed away in March this year.
She recalled how they had carried their father upstairs and remained there for a couple of days without food and water until help finally arrived.
“It was sheer nightmare and I get very paranoid now whenever it rains, and check the water level at the Sri Muda floodgates on social media many, many times daily,’’ Subashini said, adding that she heard the floodgates are not automatic and must be manually activated whenever water rises during a downpour.
“This also gives me the shivers as if there is a delay, the whole place will be flooded again,’’ she said.
Subashini, who has adopted a rescued mixed-breed dog earlier this year, hopes that in the event flooding occurs, rescue teams will allow evacuees to bring along their pets.
She had heard that there were people who stayed behind with their pets last year and declined to be rescued as the evacuation teams did not want to take their pets along.
“And there were many people who had to leave their pets behind.
“There were many dead as well as abandoned pets in Sri Muda following the flooding,’’ she added.
Both Nordiana and Subhashini hope the relevant authorities will do the necessary so that there will not be a repeat of last year’s suffering.
Meanwhile, the Shah Alam City Hall (MBSA) is prepared to face any flooding.
“The MBSA Rapid Response Team operations room is also operational 24 hours, and inspection of hotspots are carried out by the team,’’ said MBSA Corporate and Public Relations Division head Shahrin Ahmad.
He said MBSA had identified locations which would function as temporary evacuation centres.
“MBSA will also work with other agencies such as the Land and District Office, police, the Fire and Rescue Department, and the Social Welfare Department if there is flooding and subsequent evacuation of victims,’’ he added.
