Subang Jaya hit by flood

RETIREE Lim Sen Kiem, 68, may not be an expert on floods but he certainly knows what it is like to have flood waters threatening to enter one’s home.

Lim, who lives in USJ14/1F Subang Jaya, said the downpour last Thursday evening had brought a high volume of water to the large torrential drain in his neighbourhood, causing it to overflow.

According to Lim, the rain started at about 4pm and went on for an hour.

“I have been staying here for nearly 20 years and this is the first time I have seen floods at the road stretch. Perhaps the drain is clogged,” Lim said.

Several USJ and Subang Jaya residents who, like Lim, had witnessed last Thursday’s floods, said it was perhaps the worst that they have seen in the township.

The downpour went on to inundate roads in various parts of USJ and Subang Jaya, causing massive traffic jams.

Housewife Louise Fon, who stays in USJ 18, said she was driving back from Puchong when she was caught in a traffic crawl as the highway leading into USJ was flooded.

“I saw water and mud gushing from the construction sites onto the road. As soon as I turned into USJ, opposite the KFC restaurant and the Petronas petrol station. I saw the left turning at the traffic light junction already flooded,” the 36-year-old Fon said.

A mess: The living room of a house where flood waters had entered.

“Several cars were stranded and had broken down,” she said.

According to Fon, it was not the first time that the road there had been flooded as it happens quite often there.

“But the Thursday flood was probably the worst I’ve seen in USJ so far,” she said.

“I was lucky to have passed through that stretch but many drivers did not know how to drive through the waters and were caught,” she said.

Fon said the rain was exceptionally heavy that day, and the mud was flowing out of the construction sites very fast, thus causing the drains to overflow.

According to lecturer Moaz Yusuf Ahmad of SS17, the rainstorm had started near the Summit USJ and by the time the bus he was riding on reached the police station in USJ 9/8. and the whole area was flooded.


Taking notes: A MPSJ officer talking to residents in Subang Jaya/USJ where flash floods occurred during the downpour.
“When the bus turned into Persiaran Perpaduan, I could see the pool of water of about 12cm deep. The drains were overflowing and water from the Taipan USJ area was flowing over the side of the parking area,” Moaz said.

“It was perhaps one of the worst floods I had seen,” he said.

He attributed the problem to the poorly maintained drains.

Office worker Siti Hajar Yusof, 25, who works in the industrial area in USJ 1, said when she left her work area at about 5.30pm, the downpour had already started.

“Our office was not flooded but as soon as I got out to the stretch in front of the SJK (C) Chee Wen, I was stuck even though I was riding a motorbike,” Hajar said.

“Traffic congestion was everywhere and water was probably a foot high. The rain went on for another hour and it is perhaps the worst I’ve experienced,” she said.

Hajar blamed the flooding on the drainage system, saying that the water was unable to flow through properly.

Retiree Patrick Tan said a friend staying in USJ 14 had his plants kept in polystyrene boxes swept away by the flood waters.

Tan said he had previously experienced flash floods in the township, at several locations like the Persiaran Kewajipan/Perpaduan junction/traffic light, and the junction of Persiaran Murni/Bakti.

“The floods are due to the inadequate flow rate in the drains during heavy rain,” he said.

According to Tan, another reason for the flash floods in Subang Jaya and USJ is the concrete culvert that the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) had built at the road dividers and road shoulders.

“These culverts act like a barrier to trap the rain water which cannot flow out through the small drains,” Tan said.

Other areas flooded were the Kewajipan roundabout and the stretch of road in front of Mydin and Giant in USJ 1.

The MPSJ, however, said it had only received reports of floods in four locations under its jurisdiction that day — USJ 9, USJ 19, Batu 14 Puchong and USJ 1 (which it said is due to surface run-off).

MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikshan said the Subang station of the Meteorological Department recorded 49mm of rainfall in the area last Thursday.

“It was a flash flood, with the water subsiding quickly. As soon as our hotline team reached the sites, there was no more flood,” he said.

Adnan said the drain running along USJ 9 to USJ 19 was the responsibility of the Public Works Department.

On claims that drains were clogged, Adnan said most of the drains in Subang Jaya and USJ were well-maintained and that his team had confirmed this after their inspections.

“Maybe garbage did contribute to the floods, but they are not necessary clogged in drains and were probably just swept along the way,” he said. (TheStar)