Storm causes traffic mayhem in KL

Motorists left stranded, rail services disrupted by wild weather

Kuala Lumpur City Hall received many reports of fallen trees in the wake of the heavy rain and hailstorm.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall received many reports of fallen trees in the wake of the heavy rain and hailstorm. PHOTO: SIN CHEW DAILY

PETALING JAYA • Trains stalled and hundreds of motorists were left stranded after heavy rain and hailstorm pelted Kuala Lumpur, according to reports yesterday.

The roofs of at least one petrol station and an office building had collapsed, according to Malaysiakini. The website said a video clip showed the windows of an office in Bukit Jalil shattered, exposing the floor to the strong rain as workers scrambled away in panic.

Flash floods were reported in Putrajaya, Shah Alam and Serdang and several other locations in the Klang Valley, causing traffic chaos.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall confirmed that it had received many reports of fallen trees.

The bad weather on Friday also brought Express Rail Link and light rapid transit (LRT) train services to a halt, stranding passengers after violent storms caused power disruptions to Rapid KL's LRT Sri Petaling line.

"While services between Cheras and Sri Petaling stopped from 6.24pm, train services continued with longer waiting periods between Awan Besar and Bandar Puteri," Rapid Rail CEO Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin was quoted as saying in The Star Daily.

ERL issued a statement on Facebook saying the power line on one track snapped. "One KL International Airport (KLIA) Ekspres train and one KLIA Transit train en route to the airport were stranded between these two stations." The passengers were evacuated safely.

Researchers have already warned that many parts of the world will experience more intense and frequent rain, although the role of global warming in this phenomenon remains hotly debated.

In South-east Asian countries, the observed increase in record-breaking rainfall events was as high as 56 per cent over the last 30 years, according to the German government-funded Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on June 05, 2016, with the headline Storm causes traffic mayhem in KL. Subscribe