KAJANG: On July 18, a Saturday, the town here suffered one of its worst floods ever. A superstitious soul would have thought a gigantic serpent in Sungai Langat had stirred into a fit of furiousness.
The fact is, hours of unrelenting and unprecedented rain caused the river to swell and burst its banks, inundating scores of homes in several areas. They included Sungai Chua, Kampung Jambu, and housing estates in Jalan Reko.
In most places, the floodwaters receded after several hours. But they left behind their foul stench in the form of damage and destruction. This story's accompanying images and social media footage stand witness to the people's distress.
Some of the older Kajang residents liken the disaster to the Great Flood of 1971.
Fred Tan Eng Bee was 16 years old then.
"I remember the fright of the residents as it was the first time we experienced a flood of such magnitude."
The water came in just after midnight. He and his family put their TV set and household appliances on cupboards, but many other things could not be saved in the wet and cold darkness.
"When dawn came, I saw Kajang Gardens was flooded in at least 3.5 feet of water. Some areas near the railway tracks were under five feet of water. It was as if the sea had swallowed the land. I saw a couple of snakes in the water."
Doubtless for Tan and many others of his generation, the traumatic memories of the Great Flood do not die easily.
The present-day miseries of July 18's flood victims would be hard to shake off too, if not for the kindness of souls. Some of them are friends and family, many are strangers.
From Sunday onwards, good Samaritans fanned out across the stricken areas in Kajang helping shell-shocked residents to clean up their homes.
One team was led by Calvin Lee.
He was overwhelmed by what he saw.
"It was a terrible scene everywhere --- the massive destruction to property.
"My heart really goes out to them. I am really sad for all the flood victims having to pick up the pieces in times like these.
"There's still much to be done in the next few days to clean up the area."
Lee, who is the senior pastor of the Kajang Assembly of God church, and a contingent of young people spent hours removing debris and washing this and that. For three days after that, the church distributed food to distressed residents.
But, as Reverend Lee said, much remains undone. Other volunteer groups are also hard at work, as are the authorities.
The Selangor menteri besar, who saw for himself the extent of the losses in Kajang on Monday, has announced a RM500 special payment to each flood victim.
The state is applying to have a RM500 million flood-mitigation measure included in the 12th Malaysia Plan. And in the short term it aims to deepen Sungai Langat. But that's a story for another day.
Today, the residents require all the help they can get. They need to heal from this once-in-a-generation affliction. As does Kajang.