Kajang Flash Flood

The  scene of the 2/12/2011 flash flood in the town after a 3-hour torrential downpour

This afternoon flash floods hit Kajang town. After hours of torrential rain the swollen Sungai Semenyih overflowed its banks inundating streets, vehicles and shop-houses.

Worst hit was the wet market area with flood waters entering the ground floor of the three-storey shop-houses including banks and many cars were submerged up to the window level.

The wet market is the place where I go every Saturday with my wife to buy the week's groceries and also to eat breakfast. I wonder if we go there tomorrow morning the market and the surrounding stalls will open for business.

In the commercial area Metro Plaza, the largest shopping mall in the town was not spared. The basement car park was flooded. Flood water even entered the ground floor of the mall, thus affecting shoppers as well as the businesses.Kajang has always been prone to flash floods, but this time the flooding was the most severe. With so much new housing and commercial developments coming up in recent years the frequency of flooding appears to have increased in tandem with development.

Luckily the taman where I am residing is located on high ground, thus spared the consequence of flooding. However I notice that the roads in the vicinity are increasing flood proned, but still not as bad as those in the town centre.

I first learned about the flooding from a Semenyih friend who called me on my hand phone at 4.00pm. However, by the time I got back to Kajang after work at 6.30pm the floor water had receded.