Every time it rains, for most of us it will never cross our mind that a flood may hit our home; but for one couple it’s a haunting phobia they live with every time it rains. More so if they are away from home, at work or elsewhere.

Bro Prem and Sis Sudha were at work when calls came from their neighbours that it had been raining unusually heavy suddenly and that water is rising and the roads are already flooded. Bro Prem quickly called up a close friend to give a helping hand to his wife – Sis Sudha who was already rushing back home from her office.

The roads leading to their house were already inundated with flood waters. We took caution as we drove slowly to their house. All roads were clogged and as we turned into the street from the main road leading to Bro Prem’s house, water was ankle deep all along the street. It was like a swamp. It’s been a long time since I saw such a scene and it was frightening. I was asking my son to be careful as we drove since the roads were not visible at all. We parked the car opposite the house. We were wondering if flood waters may seep into the car when we open the car door. We were shocked as we got down from the car and quickly took cover under an umbrella as it was still raining very heavily. The water was already close to our knees at the place we stood. It was certainly frightening and I froze for a moment. But it was the complete opposite as I watched Sis Sudha stepping out of her car. She was smiling; you all know the usual Sis Sudha’s joyful smile and laughter. She wasn’t emotional at all in-spite being in knee deep waters. We struggled to wade through the waters to get into her house. As the main door was opened what caught my eyes was Swami’s picture on a little shelf on the wall. Bhagawan looked so radiant, so sweet in the picture and His smile melted my heart. I murmured ‘Love You loads, dear Swami’. Water was already everywhere in the house. We didn’t know where to start. But Sis Sudha knew exactly what to do immediately. She asked us to try to ‘save’ as much as possible and we knew we had to be fast as well. Having experienced being in such situations many times in the past, Sis Sudha was aware what to do next, where to start and what to expect.

Sis Sudha immediately directed us to pile up the dining room chairs up on top of the dining room table. She opened one of the room doors where there were stacks of stools which she quickly brought out and asked us to help raise the sofa settees so that she can place the sofa settees on the stools. It’s a brand new sofa set and it would have been heart-breaking if the flood waters damaged it.

We tried our best to do as much as we could, as quickly as possible and it was overwhelming. The water was rising rapidly and it was murky and dirty with debris.

But there’s only so much we could do. We wished we could hose the whole place clean, there and then, the hall, rooms and kitchen before we leave, but we knew that was not going to be possible at least for now. The rain must stop and the water must drain out completely.

I could see that all the electrical plugs which used to be on the wall closer to the floor in the house have been shifted higher. I could see new wiring. Almost all the things in the house are on stilts and shelves and none were on the floor. It certainly looked neat.

By this time Bro Prem had arrived home. And he too, like Sis Sudha, wasn’t emotionally affected. We advised him to be careful as he waded slowly across the water filled hall. He was happy that all the things in the house had been secured by then and moved to higher grounds. We did shift some of the smaller belongings to the upper floor. He thanked us and asked us to standby saying that it may take at least 4 to 5 hours before we could think of cleaning the place. At this point flood waters had taken over the whole house; debris filed, muddy and dirty.

We felt very sorry for Bro Prem & Sis Sudha whom we all love very much for the inconvenience the flood has caused. They have gone through similar situations many times in the past and it must be overwhelming for them. As it is, some of their built-in wooden cabinets have been damaged from earlier floods.

I wasn’t there when the youths went later in the evening around 11pm to clean the house. It seems by then the rain had stopped and the water had receded, leaving behind stench, dirt and debris.

The following morning, Bro Prem shared with me about the prior night’s cleaning operations. He said “From my point of view, the youths who came forward to help out are really the PANDAVAS - 5 brothers - Swami’s wonderful children- instruments of our SAI”.

Regarding the flood Bro Prem says it’s been more than two years since the last one. It seems the Government through MPK erected a big water retention pond and installed two pumps. Since then another retention pond was built and two additional pumps were added which should have sufficed to ward off any back-flow of rain water and there should not have been any surge. But that wasn’t the case. Flooding did take place. It was later found that on that fateful day, only two pumps were working and after operating for an hour continuously, a fuse blew-up leaving no pumps working; and coupled with very heavy rainfall; as a result the flash flood.

Earlier, as Bro Prem was rushing back home, driving from his work place in Bukit Jalil in the heavy rain, he kept praying to Swami and was literally crying that all should be alright at home. And coming home he was so relieved and happy that Swami answered his prayers. No items were damaged and all furniture were secure from flood waters. He wrote, ‘Prayers at the time of Calamity is very powerful’.

Through this challenging incident, Bro Prem wasn’t very well. He told me, “I have gastritis pain in the stomach this whole week and am on medication from SJMC. It is Swami and my wife Sudha who are helping me through it all. Sudha never allowed me to carry even a pail of water during the cleaning operations. I was just filling up pails for the youths to carry and to do the washing. Sudha was simply great, she was everywhere, helping in the cleaning with the boys. All of them literally scrubbed, mopped our little house clean. While the boys were cleaning, our Chinese neighbour gave them a water vacuum, to suck the water from the floor after washing. By the time we finished, we were all exhausted. After the boys left, I gave Sudha a pain killer medicine (Arcoxia) for her back and body pain. By the time we slept it was 3am. Later in the morning we went to work”.

“Swami, we prostrate at your lotus feet for being with us during such difficult times and thank you for all your grace and blessings”.

By a humanitarian of SSBCBK, published with permission from Bro.Prem and Sis.Sudha