Much of the wreckage was beyond repair, and patches of land are now barren after a few homes drifted away in the water.

Some families have also been facing restricted aid and manpower. Jalan Sungai Lui, the main access road, collapsed at Km19 yesterday morning, leaving the area accessible only by motorcycles.

Eulis, 32, told FMT that her home at Batu 19 “drowned” in the floods. The water, which was up to her roof, had only left behind parts of furniture and home appliances that cannot be repaired. “It washed away the rest,” she said.

When disaster first hit, she was racing against time to safe-keep valuables and documents.

“At that time, it had already been raining for a while. By the time we realised the water levels were rising, it was too late to salvage any items … it all happened so fast.”

She said she would welcome any donations because of her losses – a figure she cannot even begin to guess.

“I really can’t put a number. Everything is damaged. We need money to replace appliances and furniture. There were many valuables that were destroyed … laptops and other items,” Eulis, a government administrative worker, told FMT.

She said the occupants of the 10 homes in this section of Sungai Lui were shocked as the flood waters began to rise.

“It’s not that we’ve never had floods before, but the highest the water would go was up to the calves, or thighs at most. It has never gone up this high.”

About a kilometre past the collapsed road, at Batu 20 1/2, a resident told FMT their families had been receiving much less aid and fewer volunteers.

Primary school teacher Cikgu Hasnul said his home suffered “total damage”, estimated to be RM100,000. Nothing could be salvaged apart from some wooden furniture, he said.

“It’s total loss. Two cars, and everything inside the house … they’re gone.

“We will humbly accept any food aid given, but for monetary donations, I think it’s better to give to other villagers first.”

He said that when the water started rising, his family and his neighbours took shelter at the gazebo in front of his house. “Luckily, we had built it only about a month ago.”

“We hope that the authorities would do what is needed. The most important is to restore water supply. We still can’t clean our houses,” he said.

Another resident, Khairul, who works at a fish pond in Hulu Langat, said he viewed the floods as among “life’s many trials and tribulations”.

Although he also suffered a total loss, he simply wants to replace the beds and kitchen appliances, so his family, including three children, can eat and sleep comfortably.

“It would be great if we could get donations, but we will recover slowly. It’s all right, we accept it as a test from God.

“For now, we would welcome food items. We would need to replace the kitchen appliances and get some mattresses so we can sleep. That would be more than enough.”

Even in the face of great adversity, he remains in positive spirits, keeping faith that he and his neighbours will overcome the situation. “We will recover, bit by bit,” he said.