Photo: Facebook (Crystal Kwong)
Unforgiving, heavy rain has been a constant in the Klang Valley as of late.
Yesterday evening, shoppers were stuck for several hours in IKEA Cheras when the mall’s basement carpark was flooded with water up to 0.1 metres deep. That’s pretty much ankle height.
According to The New Straits Times, the incident started around 6.30p.m., and saw a number of people having to wade through the water to get to their cars.
Photo: Facebook (Crystal Kwong)
IKEA Malaysia said in a statement on their Facebook page that the cause of the issue was the drainage system, which was affected by construction works conducted beyond their property. They also extended their apologies for the inconvenience caused and advised people to either travel via MRT or to park at MyTOWN shopping centre instead to avoid getting caught. Meanwhile, other IKEA stores continued operations as per usual. They also had a team of workers on ground to pump out the water as fast as possible.
At 6.45p.m., the Fire and Rescue Department received an emergency call regarding the incident. Operations commander Mohamad Shukri Abidin said five personnel were sent to the site and they decided that there was no danger. The firemen then deferred to IKEA Cheras personnel to resume the water removal process.
Pictures and videos taken by customers caught in the unfortunate incident have since gone viral on social media, with shoppers seen going barefoot, shoes in one hand and shopping bags in the other. Meanwhile, lifts appeared to be out of operation as there were cones placed at the entrance to the lifts.
By: Celestine Foo
