June 10 brings bad news again

By NG WEI LOON

Those who had seen it happen in 2003 later found out why it felt so uncanny - the 2003 flood happened on the same date, June 10.

In that flood, the water came up to 5.7 feet in the basement. Sunday’s floods broke the 2003 record - the water rose to 5.8 feet.

Not again!: Before (above) and after shots inside the Concorde Hotel car park which was flooded following three hours of rain on Sunday.

“Coincidentally, both of the worst floods that we have experienced happened on the same day. After the encounter with the hazardous flood in 2003, we spent RM5mil to relocate our electricity sub-station to a three-storey building. The safety of our guests and employees is our main priority,” said Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur general manager Gary Lee, who has served at the establishment for 16 years.

A total of 18 vehicles parked at the basement were also damaged during the recent flood.

Massive clean up: Workers at an entertainment outlet at Heritage Row in Kuala Lumpur getting the establishment back in order.

“Although we alerted them, several people were unable to drive their vehicles to higher ground. However, we will be assisting the vehicle owners with their insurance claims,” added Lee.

A victim who only wanted to be known as Lim said his vehicle had to be towed to the workshop before the cost of the damage could be determined.

“I was attending a wedding dinner at the hotel last night (Sunday). This is the first time that I have been caught in such a situation. We had a meeting with the hotel's management this morning. We were told to submit the estimate of the repair cost,” Lim added.

The hotel's laundry and their employees’ lockers were not spared.

“It was unfortunate that the drainage was located at our basement. It happened so quickly and the water sustained in the area for more than two hours. Practically, the whole city was submerged in water,” added Lee.