December 20, 2021
KUALA LUMPUR – A paralysed man stuck in a house with rising water around him, a woman and her child on the boot of a stranded car waiting to be rescued from flood waters around her, and water gushing into the basement of a condominium to submerge vehicles.
These were some of the images shared on Malaysian social media in the past three days as heavy rain pummelled most of Peninsular Malaysia on Sunday (Dec 19) for the third day running.
In another widely shared video, a big lorry carrying stranded Malaysians in the rain travelled along a highway, with waves of the flood water splashing into dozens of stalled cars and even big lorries.
One video on Twitter showed a settlement said to be in Hulu Langat district in Selangor, with wrecked cars, uprooted trees, and homes in ruins.
“Cars are badly destroyed, overturned, Allahu Akbar (God is great), total loss, Hulu Langat, this is bad. All the houses are underwater, near the river,” said a man in the video posted by user Pokpih.
Tolong yang ni ya Allah, both makayah dia pakai wheelchair and ayah dia dah start sesak nafas😭 #DaruratBanjir pic.twitter.com/lwIV7BwoWg
— anor (@chlriedes) December 18, 2021
Keadaan Hulu Langat bahagian hulu area Batu 18 ke atas.
Allahu.#BanjirDarurat #banjirhululangat pic.twitter.com/aIMv9OkXLG
— Pokpih (@Pokpih) December 19, 2021
About 100 residents of Taman Sri Nanding in Hulu Langat were stranded on the roof of a prayer hall for more than 12 hours, waiting for rescue. The residents, including babies, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses, had to climb onto the top of the hall due to rising water levels, Sinar Harian newspaper reported on Sunday.
The devastation seemed unreal for many Malaysians sharing the videos and pictures, as these involve urban Selangor and the capital city Kuala Lumpur, and not rural Kelantan, Terengganu and eastern Johor, as annually seen during the year-end monsoon season.
The tales of those stranded led Twitter user 4M30W to write, “I don’t think any of us can get a good night’s sleep tonight. My heart is broken reading all these updates”, accompanied by five crying emojis.
Villagers wade through a flooded street in Shah Alam, Selangor, on Dec 19, 2021. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
There were heartwarming stories too.
A video showed a car stopping by a road to pick up a family of four who had walked several kilometres as the area around their Shah Alam housing estate was flooded.
A rider with a food-delivery company opened up two of his thermal bags to show seven cats he had rescued, to the virtual applause of many people.
@nurrahieman93Kita jaga kucing kita.. #fypdongggggggg #pecintakucing #kucingoren♬ bunyi asal – Affan
The devastation did not spare the country’s landmarks.
A video showed Malaysia’s oldest mosque Masjid Jamek in downtown Kuala Lumpur being inundated with raging river water that flooded its compound.
The next-door Dataran Merdeka, or Independence Square – the site of concerts, political rallies and National Day parades – was not spared.
Neither were the main routes to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from surrounding areas that were shut on Sunday (Dec 19) due to the floods. Passengers and airport staff were advised to use the one highway left that remained open.