Living in fear after landslide
24/04/2008 New Straits Times

KAJANG: Rain wreaked havoc in the lives of several families here and in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

In the incident here, the kitchens of two homes in Taman Bukit were washed away in a landslide at 7.30am after a thunderstorm. Cracks also developed in the back portion of three neighbouring houses.

The incident in Ampang was no less scary as part of a boulder struck by lightning broke off from a cliff and came crashing down on a car parked at the Wangsa Heights condominium in Bukit Antarabangsa.

Three other cars were also damaged. According to S. Gopi, a loud cracking sound at 7.30am as she was preparing to go to work revealed that her kitchen had collapsed. "It had been raining heavily since 3am, but I never thought something like this would happen. "My father was using the bathroom near the kitchen just seconds before the incident. I'm afraid to think of what could've happened if he was still in it," said the 24-year-old bank employee.

Apparently, the heavy rain caused a two-metre slope behind the houses to crumble. Jewellery store staff Maslina Abdul Rahman, 23, claimed residents had raised safety concerns to the local Rukun Tetangga twice, but nothing had come of it. "Thank God, my siblings had already taken their bath. If they were still in the bathroom, lives could have been lost." Maslina urged the authorities to take immediate action as she was worried that other houses may be affected in future.

Kajang police chief Assistant Commissioner Sakarudin Che Mood said the victims had been told to move to a safer place. "Nobody was injured in the incident and we advise the victims to move for the time being," he said. Bangi state assemblyman Dr Shafie Abu Bakar said he had contacted the state Welfare Department to find temporary accommodation for the victims.

"We are concerned about what has happened and will try to repair their houses as soon as possible," he said. In Ampang, Stanley Chean, 42, was getting fresh air on his balcony about 2am when he heard loud sounds and saw a huge boulder crashing onto a Suzuki Swift. "I heard a loud sound twice in quick succession and the next thing I knew, the boulder was on top of the car and its alarm went off," said the manager of a catering company.

Chean, who has lived in the condominium for seven years, believed the boulder had been struck by lightning. "Thank God, I listened to my wife's advice and did not park there." The owner of the Swift, who only wanted to be known as Yeoh, said the parking area should be declared unsafe and cordoned off.