As clean-up begins in Kota Baru, stench of rotten food fills streets

Shop owners in Kota Baru are cleaning their premises after floods damaged much of their stock. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 29, 2014.

In Kota Baru, shopkeepers are slowly opening their doors after nearly a week of floods, not for business but to clean and assess the damage incurred during the disaster.

Outside Lim Siong Kee's restaurant, plastic bags full of reeking rotten food were lined up at the entrance – the remnants of his entire stock of goods which had perished after electricity was cut.

"This was all the food left in my shop's refrigerator since last Wednesday," the 49-year-old store owner told The Malaysian Insider when met outside his shop near KB mall.

"I've only been able to get back to my store today, before this, all the roads were blocked because of the floods."

Lee said he expected the damage to run into thousands of ringgit, noting that many of his items were destroyed and he would have to replenish his entire stock.

"I don't know when I can open for business again. One week, two weeks? I don't even have any water to clean my store properly," he said as his wife swept the brownish water out onto the streets.

Describing this as the worst flood to hit Kelantan, Lee said this was also the first time the water had reached his restaurant's doors.

The owners of furniture store, MDF Modern Deco, said the flood had destroyed most of their goods and entered their shop, and they were at a loss on how to manage the damage.

"We'll just do our best. But the floodwater entered from the front, the back, and now we're just sorting out whatever we can salvage," said Modern Foo, 52.

"Without any electricity or running water, our operations are crippled and we have no idea when we can reopen for business."

Foo said he was worried about reports of looting in other stores and had ordered his employees to guard the shop round-the-clock.

One of the workers, Norazmin, told The Malaysian Insider that he had heard of 7-Eleven convenient stores and supermarkets being looted in other areas.

"These thieves are taking advantage of the situation. They see shops with expensive items such as television sets, and they just break in and steal them.

"Fortunately, nothing like that has happened here, but that's because I'm always on guard."

Some shop owners had not even waited for the flood to subside before entering their store to clean them out.

In Kampung Sireh, one woman waded through chest-deep water to clear out the rubbish that had floated into her husband's store, Kenn Auto A.

"Everything is damaged, except for the items that we were able to move in time up to the second floor.

"We'll think about how to manage the loss later. Now, we do whatever we can." she told The Malaysian Insider.

- TMI