IPOH - Five luxury cars owned by a businessman were damaged when his property in Arena Kepayang Putra, Fair Park here, was inundated by floodwaters over a metre high yesterday.
Datuk Amaluddin Mohamed Ismail, 63, said his Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and Toyota Alphard could not be saved as the water rose rapidly.
"Initially, my family and I weren’t too worried because in the 28 years that we’ve lived here, floods happened frequently but the water would only rise to knee level.
"This time, we couldn’t do anything as the water rose very quickly. At 10.30am, when I checked outside, the water was only ankle-deep, but within an hour, it surged past one metre. There was no time to salvage the cars,” he said when met at his residence today.
Yesterday, hundreds of residents were severely affected by flooding after incessant rain caused Sungai Kinta to burst its banks.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said the cause of the flood would be investigated and remedial measures would be taken to prevent a recurrence. Yesterday's flood is considered the worst in 30 years.
Amaluddin said he also suffered additional losses from damage to household appliances and furniture.
He called for collaboration from various parties, particularly the Ipoh City Council (MBI), to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Another resident, Muhammad Noor Azwan, 34, said that despite suffering losses exceeding RM50,000, he was grateful that his eight family members at home during the incident were not injured.
"Four motorcycles, electrical appliances, furniture and daily-use items were all damaged and couldn’t be salvaged.
"Although the losses are significant, I am grateful that all my family members are safe. We were relocated to the temporary relief centre (PPS) at Dewan Dato’ Azumu Tak, Kampung Kepayang Mosque,” he said.
Meanwhile, A. Subramaniam, 65, estimated that it would take three to four days to clean up the mud left behind, which had damaged the area and household items.
"It’s quite difficult to remove the thick mud stains. It’s not just the house but also furniture, electrical appliances and other items that were damaged by the mud.
"Our burden has been somewhat eased, however, as the agencies involved have been helping our family and other residents in this neighbourhood with relocation efforts to PPS and clearing the muddy roads in this area,” he said. - BERNAMA