Mohd Jafni (third from right) checking the condition of a monsoon drain in Kulai.
THE Federal Government is urged to conduct a sustainable flood mitigation study in high-risk areas in Johor to provide a long-term solution to the issue.
Johor housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the study should not only look at solutions for lowland areas, but also areas that might be inundated during a high volume of rainfall.
“We have lowland areas such as Kampung Jaya Sepakat, Kampung Murni Jaya and Taman Aman in Kulai which are often affected by floods.
“But some affected places like Kampung Bukit Batu at Jalan Benteng and Jalan Masjid are not lowland areas.
“So the government should not just look at areas in Kulai alone, but also other places so that there is a holistic approach to this issue,” he said when contacted.
The study could take about a year to be completed to better determine and predict the effect of the weather on a certain area, he added.
“There are residential houses that are located near a river; so besides deepening the river as a short-term solution, there should also be a long-term solution such as a flood wall being studied and developed,” said Mohd Jafni.
Mohd Jafni says all areas affected by floods should be looked at and not just lowland areas.
“It would be best if the Federal Government could allocate funds to study these types of development before going through with it. It would also ensure that the project was viable and worthwhile,” he said.
He highlighted that prudent planning was necessary as flood mitigation projects usually cost millions of ringgit.
On the Kampung Bukit Batu flood, he said the incident occurred because of heavy rain falling both upstream and downstream of the village.
“The village is located between Bukit Nyamuk in Simpang Renggam and Sungai Pontian Besar.
“Even though the village did not experience any heavy rainfall, those two other areas did and the water could not flow properly and became stagnant,” Mohd Jafni explained.
He said the Federal and state governments had allocated RM1.3mil to upgrade the monsoon drains at Jalan Masjid and Jalan Benteng this year.
“The Drainage and Irrigation Department also cleared a 12km stretch of Sungai Pontian Besar but it still could not contain the huge volume of water,” he added.
A total of 159 people from 41 families in the village were relocated to a temporary relief centre at SMK Bukit Batu at 6pm on Oct 1.
“In terms of preparation and response time, our agencies were well-prepared and tents had already been set up when the victims were moved there.
“The Health Department also set up a mobile clinic to test flood victims for Covid-19,” Mohd Jafni said, adding that the flood victims had enough food, drinking water and other necessities.
