As we write this article in Petaling Jaya, Selangor it is raining ‘bulldogs’ and ‘wildcats’ like it did four days ago on Thursday evening. Will there be flash floods? Yes! Will there be warehouses and showrooms with goods and machinery sitting on the ground floor and maybe even in the basement? Yes! So another round of flood damaged goods will be in for an insurance claim and the few car drivers who were on the road at the wrong time might just get stranded and be faced with a high repair bill.
Just a few days ago on Thursday evening thunderstorm in Petaling Jaya created havoc in some parts of Petaling Jaya with flash floods. A number of factories and warehouses along Jalan 223 were flooded when the Sungai Penchala overflowed and flooded the industrial and commercial buildings along its banks.
The hardest hit were the car showrooms along the Federal Highway where the drainage at the back has seen on and off flooding for many years. From Mazda right up to Kia and Ford the flood waters came from the rear and slowly seeped into the showrooms and the workshop areas at the rear. For most, the waters stopped in time at the exhaust height and with the cars parked, there were minimal issues. As the waters subsided quickly these cars only needed an undercarriage wash and left to dry.
For some others along the stretch, there were vehicles in their lower ground car parks that were completely flooded. These new unsold vehicles will be taken over by the insurance provider (the showrooms will make a claim with the insurance company for flood damage) and what happens to them will have to be investigated. There is a good chance that the insurance provider will clean up these vehicles at their appointed workshops and then put up for sale at a discounted price to recover some of their costs.
The worry is that the used car dealers that will will be used to sell these once flooded vehicles will probably not disclose what happened to these vehicles and just mark them as old stock showroom units for sale at a great price.
These vehicles will also not carry a warranty from the manufacturer and will not have recall notices when needed.
Buyers need to be aware and informed of the issues that could crop up with completely flooded vehicles.
Meanwhile, the biggest news of this flash flood came from the online viral images of the Ducati showroom along the next stretch of showrooms. The viral pictures showed some parked motorcycles almost 70 per cent submerged. Ducati management were quick to issue a press release to explain that the damage to customers were being assessed and owners have been informed and work was in progress to get their showroom back in order.
Jalan 51A/223 in Section 51A also saw a fair share of rising waters but the damages were less intrusive.
Along Jalan 222 as well there was rising water but the car showrooms were less affected as the waters did not get into the cars.
The smartphone warehouse and the sports equipment warehouse along the same stretch also had a lot of water damage and you will probably be seeing a sale at these businesses after our lockdown.
