FT Ministry Working To Find Cause Of KL Flash Floods
About 100 families, involving about 400 residents, were displaced by the floods in the capital.
By May Vin Ang — 11 Sep 2020, 11:44 AM
The Ministry of Federal Territories has said that it will study the cause of the flash floods that struck the capital yesterday, 10 September, and find a way to prevent the incident from recurring
While visiting the worst-hit areas in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said he will request a report from the Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on the capabilities of the city's existing irrigation and mitigation system.
According to Bernama, he said the ministry will take into account the functionality and adequacy of the mitigation system as well as the Smart Tunnel which took billions to build, and whether development control needed to be scrutinised.
Annuar said he was not going to rule out the possibility of the ongoing developments around the city as a cause of the flash floods, which were deemed to be among the worst and unusual
"I want to see if the large flow of water is related to the areas being developed. A study needs to be done to enable DBKL to see the implementation of a long-term plan," he said in a live Facebook broadcast during his visit to a flood victim evacuation centre last night.
However for now, Annuar said the cause of the incident was most likely the more than usual volume of rainfall which was too much for the existing drainage system to handle.
Tan Sri Annuar Musa visiting flood victims in an evacuation centre yesterday.
Image via @AnnuarMusa (Twitter)Heavy rain poured throughout the Klang Valley for hours, beginning from 1.30pm yesterday
The five worst-hit areas in the capital were namely Lebuh Ampang, Jalan Raja Alang (Kampung Baru), Lorong Air Leleh (Setapak), Jalan Gurney, and Jalan San Ah Wing (Semarak).
The floodwaters rose as high as between 1m and 3m in the affected areas.
On Jalan Gurney and Jalan Raja Alang, 15 victims were reported to be trapped by the floodwaters but were successfully rescued by firemen.
Annuar also said that about 100 families, involving about 400 residents, were displaced by the floods. No lives have been reported lost.
