METMalaysia: 'Unchecked Overdevelopment' One Of The Reasons Behind The Flooding In KL
There was nothing particularly unusual about the heavy rainfall on Thursday. At its peak, the total rainfall was reported at 44.5mm, which is regarded as normal for an average rainy day in Malaysia.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Sep 2020, 12:19 PM
On Thursday afternoon, 10 September, several parts of Kuala Lumpur became a temporary island after a thunderstorm caused flooding
This post with a set of three photos showed the area around Masjid Jamek, which is located on Jalan Tun Perak, City Centre, flooded with cars in a nearby residential area almost submerged in the floodwater.
The floodwater in the worst-hit areas such as Lebuh Ampang, Kampung Baru, Setapak, Jalan Gurney, and Semarak rose as high as between 1m and 3m.
About 100 families, involving about 400 residents, were displaced by the flash floods.
The flooding, however, didn't result from the volume of the rain. According to a meteorologist, the floods were caused by other factors.
The National Weather and Geophysics Operations Centre has since said that there was nothing particularly unusual about the heavy rainfall, according to a report in New Straits Times. At its peak, the total rainfall was reported at 44.5mm, which is regarded as normal for an average rainy day in the country.
"There was heavy rain for a short time between 2pm and around 6pm. While this is not unusual for Kuala Lumpur, there are other possible factors as to why [the] incident brought flooding on such a scale," the Malaysian Meteorological Department employee was quoted as saying.
Among the factors, the meteorologist said, could include rivers breaching its limit, drains operating beyond their capacity or "overdevelopment that could have gone unchecked".
The possibility was also voiced by Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who said that he will not rule out the flash floods due to the ongoing developments in several locations around the city.
"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 on Thursday night.
The flooding situation around Menara Bank Muamalat on Thursday.
Image via Info Roadblock JPJ/POLIS (Facebook)However, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan said his officers had given him a preliminary briefing and attributed the flooding to "extremely heavy rainfall" and blocked drains.
On social media, several netizens, too, remarked that the capital doesn't need more skyscrapers. Instead what it needs are more trees and better flood-related and climate change adaptation plans.
The sentiment was echoed by Segambut member of Parliament (MP) Hannah Yeoh, who urged the Ministry of Federal Territories (FT Ministry) to listen to "what residents in KL have been saying".
