Flash Flood @ Shah Alam

Posted in Gallivantings | 3 comments

[This is the photo of Batu Tiga, heading towards Shah Alam after the toll, where the floods allegedly hit]I think God was keeping an eye on me last night (Saturday). What was purported to be another nightout in KL town, ended with me not going because I was too exhausted. I went to Port Klang in hunt for seafood (as my meaty days are numbered – Ash Wednesday, 1st Mar 06). I had a really good time and a rattling conversation with this schoolteacher I met. She’s a Gemini, thence conjuring certain qualities of my ex-gf of 3 years. A Kedahan with a passion to go dotty every now and then. LOL! She can hold her end of the conversation extremely well.

We went in search for some HALAL seafood (she’s Malay), near Bagan and Esplanade area. Regrettably, we couldn’t find any and had to settle for a restaurant on the esplanade overlooking the sea (Straits of Malacca has the most despicable of seas – thank God it was night!). Talk about irony, a restaurant by the sea that doesn’t dish out seafood. We had tomyam “seafood” (if you call 3 prawns and 4 pieces of squid seafood!), kailan with salt fish and fried beef with “kunyit” (I forgot the English name). It was edible. And the company I was with even made the dinner more memorable.

After dropping her off in Klang town (she lives in a dormitory with her students), I headed back to civilization approx 10:30pm, only to cave in to my grogginess and detoured back to Shah Alam (where I live). I wanted to watch live footie on TV but my step-brother got to the TV first. Well, it was for the good anyway as Arsenal recorded another defeat – the story of their season.

I slumbered around 12-ish, after chatting with my kadazan-dusun friend in KK. I was abruptly awoken by the loudest sound of thunder I have ever heard in my 28 years of existence! It stunned the hell out of me. It was around 4am in the morning. Lightnings were striking Shah Alam as if it’s the War of the Worlds. I logged Z’s again and woke up around 10am.

While I was reading the newspaper (11am), my mom walks in the house and told me that she couldn’t attend mass today, as quite a number of roads in Shah Alam were shut. The first thing that struck me was the lightning hoo-ha, and I told her it could plausibly be that a lightning has struck Batu 3 Shah Alam causing severe damage.

Hours later, in a hopeless search for any related information on the internet, I eventually saw the headlines in the online STAR and also Bernama, saying that Shah Alam has been hit by a flash flood. Much to my astonishment, this is EASILY the WORST flood (apart from the infamous 1993 flood in Sri Muda, Shah Alam).

Federal Highway was closed. NKVE expressway was closed. The Batu 3 toll was shut down. So, it’s looking pretty bad. Only KESAS highway is open. It will take a good couple of hours for the water to reside, and with the rainy season, the floods might occur again later tonight. Evidently the rainfall last night was 118mm (58mm more than the average THUNDERSTORM!) in Shah Alam (in a 2-hour downpour!). Humans are to be damned for the change of weather! ALL OF US!

I’m hoping to be able to head for work tomorrow, my fingers are crossed (well not right now as I’m typing..have temporarily “uncrossed” them. LOL!) that the Federal Highway (Malaysia’s busiest road) is free from flood tomorrow @ 8:45am. Hmmm…I wonder if I am unable to go to work, whether I need to apply for annual leave, as this is an act of God. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow, won’t I? Will keep you posted.

I will now leave you with a different kind of “flood”, a 2001 photo of me, taken at the Niagara Falls.

You can close the windows and darken your room, or you can open the windows and let light in. It is a matter of choice. Your mind is your room. Do you darken it or do you fill it with light?

Attack life, it’s going to kill you anyway!