Thursday, January 5, 2012

A Wet Cat

Heavy rain and floods in Cat Town right now ... 


If you live there, these won't be interesting (you'd be experiencing it firsthand). However if you happen to be away from Kuching or living abroad, these are relatively uncommon scenes ...


Photo 1: Rock Road (?)

Photo 2: Hui Sing Garden

Photo 3: Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho

Photo 4: Car half submerged in Batu Lintang area

Photo 5: Opposite Naim Tower

Photo 6: Residents in Batu Kawa


Photo 7: Near Wisma Saberkas


Apparently the continuous downpour over the last 12 hours with the King Tide has led to heavy flooding in various parts of the city here, bringing the morning rush hour traffic to a standstill.


Do send me more photos if you do take them, and I'll add them onto this posting. Also share any experiences you have with moving around under these conditions.

28 comments:

  1. Buddy JY, you in Kuching? Caught up with George and his son Nigel at a coffee shop yesterday. Just a shortstop in Kuching then off to Sibu at 4pm.

    Jobs piling on the desk...I will never ever take such a long vacation (27 days). Sigh!

    Hey brader, Photo 4: Car half submerged in Batu Lintang area. Walao! banyak serious O!

    It's raining cats and dogs here (Tg. Manis) too.
    Btw, why cats and dogs? Why not ducks and chickens or snakes and frogs. :-)
    Cheers

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  2. Starting to look like the floods in Thailand

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  3. sad news with 2 missing including a form 6 student who stepped into the big drain when her mother's car stalled besides the petrol station near batu lintang. one of those who went to help her also went missing.

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  4. Iris Garden (where my parents stay) also badly hit. My mum's car was under water, fence at left side of the house came tumbling down. Flood water entered the house.

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  5. Amazing! I left my house at 6.45am to drive my daughter to school. I drove past Wisma Naim and up Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho [photo 3]. Photo 5 is only a stone's throw away from my house.

    There was no flood and it was a smooth ride all the way to school. No flood anywhere at all.

    I had breakfast with my son at Tabuan Jaya and drove to Kings Centre at 8.30am. No traffic jam at all too. Now I come online and I am stunned to see the level of flooding along roads that I had passed uneventfully.

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  6. That's why they call it a flash flood, George

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  7. Is anyone taking responsibility or just blame on mother nature?

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  8. Photo6 really looked like a scene from Bangkok in Nov/Dec

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  9. Wah, looks like a real bad one this time! Is it still raining? Or is the water subsiding?

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  10. From the news ... A Form 6 girl and a petrol station worker (who tried to rescue her) are missing after being swept away by rushing waters in a storm drain at Jalan Rock around 7am today.

    Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/01/05/two-missing-student-and-would-be-rescuer-swept-away-in-storm-drain-latest/#ixzz1ia8uarke

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  11. Sad day in Kuching. Such senseless loss of life.

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  12. 2012 will be a year of floods and freak weather. Just like the movie?

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  13. Chief Librarian BurokJanuary 6, 2012 at 12:16 AM

    @Gerard - Regarding the origin of the phrase "raining cats and dogs" ...

    In the 1500s human beings had the pleasure of living in homes with thatched roofs which had the ability to repel winds. In these strange times, the humans didn't want their pets shitting in and dirtying their homes and so they were always kept outside. The animals would keep themselves warm in the little nooks in the thatching on the roofs and would store their food up there for a rainy day.

    When an especially rainy day did come along, the animals would either get washed off of the roof or would come leaping down looking for better cover. The story goes that the townsfolk would look out their window, see pets falling from the sky, and proclaim it to be "raining cats and dogs."

    Believe it or not :)

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  14. @ Chief Librarian - Thanks bro.

    My thoughts and prayers go to the families of the Form 6 girl and a petrol station worker being swept away by rushing waters.

    Take care all.

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  15. Is the flood over yet?

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  16. arrival of the Water Dragon

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  17. Flood over. Hopefully. The cleanup has began and is ongoing. People counting their losses. Cash machines ringing non-stop at auto workshops. I really hope workshop operators do not take advantage of the situation trying to squeeze more from the unfortunate victims with fllod damaged cars.
    But my heart is with two families who lost their loved ones.

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  18. Yea, me had a bad experience too while driving down to work. Drove me car through the flood which was round 1+foot high, lucky me car engine 'tak mati'. The food was at Chawan Road.

    No more floods in Kuching liaw, keep our fingers cross everyone, but as of now, the rain here comes and goes every now and then.

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  19. Was Palm Road flooded, anyone know?

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  20. Yes, Palm Road and around the area kena too, areas like Nanas Road, outside Chung Hua Pri.School, and Baharudin Road, Police HQ.

    No photo shots from me cos too 'takut' to drive out to take any.

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  21. Don't think the car in pic 4 can go over 35km per hour huh?

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  22. On Thursday, 5th Jan 2012. Had my first experience of massive traffic jam in kuching. had to rush to a meeting. took short cuts, all the roads were flooded. had to go through with my old kancil. then i heard two people went missing at Batu Lintang. What i said! Cannot be!

    as of 8.45 am this morning, the petrol station guy was found behind my house ie the Stapok/Sungai Maong area. The Fire & Rescue Department didnt give up hope. They were sailing around the river at 7.00 pm. so were one of the victim's family.

    as of Sat, 7th Jan 2012. on my way home from Aikido class, the Fire and Rescue Department and everybody else were camped out under the new Suspension bridge next to the Food Court across the new Kubah Ria. Great job!

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  23. @Vivienateng - walau, you do Aikido ha? Better not mess with you !!!

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  24. For your info little miss kho, the drown victim is still missing. her family hired an excavator and brought it to the sungai maong river/stapok.

    the flowers at the batu lintang site growing everyday.

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    Replies
    1. Beside flowers growing, there's also an iron fence 'grown' around the area now too at Rock Road.

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  25. sorry for the late update.

    Kho Ying Qi's body was found stuck in the mangrove of Muara Tebas, near Kampung Goeblitt on 21st January 2012. she was intact, nothing was missing except for her shoes. she was cremated the next day.

    I was hoping that somehow after 17 days, little Miss Kho would have made it or rescued by somebody. it has to turn out this way. Very tragic story.

    very unfortunate for the flowers including my 4 potted plants. It was carted off on 2nd February 2012. A bad reminder for the authorities.

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  26. Heard she felled into the smaller drain first, drain next to entrance to Shell station, and not the big drain where friends and well wishers placed the flowers.
    She missed her footing and felled,and when she shouted for help, Herman, who was 50m or so away, went running to her aid and jumped in, knowing he can't swim and knowing that the drain is not deep.
    He was right, the small drain is not deep BUT he didn't realize that the water current is so strong and swift. When he realizes it, it was too late.

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