SHAH ALAM: It has been a long backbreaking night for The Star journalist Zulkifli Abdul Rahman. 

Instead of spending his Sunday night watching television with his two young children like he usually does, Zulkifli was busy salvaging his furniture and scrubbing the floors and walls of his house in Taman TTDI. 

He had found his kitchen completely ruined after the floodwaters receded. His house was among thousands of homes here hit by floods yesterday. 

Zulkifli was, however, grateful to well-wishers who turned up at the residential area, offering food to his family and neighbours. 

WATERWORLD: President of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam Selangor Datuk Dr Jacob George showing the flooded living room of his house in Shah Alam Sunday.

The floods, while leaving a trail of damage, had also rallied together the people in the neighbourhood. Motorists had honked their cars at 4am to wake up residents to alert them of rising floodwaters. 

“One woman even went from house to house, knocking on the door to warn us,” he said, adding that the family would be huddled on the upper floor of the house in case there was heavy rain and floods again.  

Like Zulkifli, Halizan Ibrahim and her family members stayed up the entire night to clean their house in Jalan Lagenda in Taman TTDI Jaya.  

With Tenaga Nasional cutting off power supply following the flood, they had had to rely on candles and torchlights to illuminate their home.  

“It is hot and humid inside the house. We have no choice but to get the job done as soon as possible. There will be stains if we leave the cleaning-up until tomorrow,” said Halizan, a TTDI Development employee. 

Halizan said her three-month old Proton Gen2 was damaged. Fortunately, another family car was in the workshop at the time of the floods.  

“Almost everything on the ground floor of the house – furniture, electrical goods and kitchen cabinets – have been damaged,” she explained. 

Another resident, Wong Chee Keong, said he and his wife would take a few days off from work.  

“It will take at least three days to clean up and get the house in order,” said Wong, who has been residing in the same area for almost 10 years. 

Wong, a sub-contractor, said his car porch was built 40cm higher than usual but that it was still not high enough to prevent the water from entering his house 

His four vehicles were damaged, along with his furniture and electrical equipment worth at least RM60,000. 

“This is not the first flood we encountered since moving into the area 10 years ago. But it is definitely the worst,” he said. 

The family later spent the night at his daughter's apartment.  

Over in Taman Mesra Batu Tiga in Shah Alam, more than 200 residents were left stranded outside their houses shortly after floods hit their homes.  

Many were seen sitting about and wandering outside the main access road as they spoke to Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok, who had rushed straight to the place from a meeting upon learning of the residents' plight.