Landslide behind Cheras Awana Flat

CHERAS, 18 Nov 2009: A landslide behind the Cheras Awana flats on Wednesday afternoon flattened several vehicles and forced the evacuation of 10 families.
Three cars and a motorcycle were destroyed in the 2.30pm incident that occurred after a downpour. There were no casualties but losses were estimated at RM70,000.
Residents said that prior to the incident, a contractor hired by the Kajang Municipal Council was building a retention wall along the 7m-high slope.
Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Sakaruddin Che Mood issued the evacuation order upon visiting the site. Five families were moved to the Cheras Permai community hall while the remaining families stayed the night with relatives.
Kajang municipal councillor Ng Thien Chee said the contractor would be instructed to compensate the victims. He said the council’s engineering department would investigate if work was carried out according to specifications but declined to say whether the slope was deemed unstable.
Flat owner B. Ravindran, 42, said both his Wira and Kancil were crushed in the mishap.
“My family and I are without cars now and it is going to be difficult to move around. My wife used the smaller car to send our kids to school,” he added.
Another resident P. Ananthakumar, 28, said there were two previous soil erosion incidents within the year.