Flooding in urban areas such as Johor Baru city appears to be common now. - Filepic
JOHOR Baru needs to have a blueprint to address flash floods which usually occur when a downpour and high tide happen simultaneously.
Malaysian Nature Society president Vincent Chow said the blueprint would outline measures required for a city flood mitigation project.
“The project requires a huge amount of money and the state government cannot do it without financial allocation from the Federal Government,” he said when contacted.
Chow said the Federal Government should have allocated money for flood mitigation during the tabling of Budget 2023 at Parliament.
He explained that the project would involve the deepening of rivers, replanting of mangrove trees along riverbanks and coastal areas as well as improving the city’s existing drainage system.
He said the project was important as Johor Baru city was the main entry point for visitors entering Malaysia from Singapore.
“A comprehensive study is needed for the blueprint and we urge the state government to involve environment-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” he said.
Over the years, Chow said the state government had failed to acknowledge the role played by NGOs in championing environmental issues locally.
Meanwhile, Green Earth Society Johor president P. Sivakumar said the flood mitigation project should now cover urban areas and not just rural spots.
“We have seen changes in weather patterns because of global warming and climate change in recent years. Flooding in urban areas like Johor Baru city is now common,’’ he said.
Sivakumar attributed the urban floods to forest clearing, overdevelopment and erosion along coastal areas and riverbanks.
“The damage from urban floods has caused losses not only to businesses but also urban dwellers after the floodwaters recede,” he said.
Sivakumar said residents had spent thousands of ringgit to clean their houses, including replacing damaged furniture and electrical items, and sending their vehicles for repairs.
He added that floodwaters also damaged roads, resulting in potholes and even sinkholes.
Sivakumar said local councils in Johor had not implemented a 24-hour system to monitor potholes.
“Most of the time, work to patch potholes only take place after photos of the potholes are uploaded on social media,” he said.
Sivakumar said repairing a whole stretch of the road was the only way to prevent potholes from reappearing.
Meanwhile, Johor Baru mayor Datuk Noorazam Osman said Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) had allocated RM5mil for its flood mitigation project.
He said the project, which started this month, is taking place along the Sungai Chat basin, starting from Larkin Indah to Kampung Mohd Amin.
“Six water pumps will be installed along the river stretch and nine weirs will be built,” said Noorazam, adding that the project was expected to be completed in six months.
The six water pumps will be installed at the Sungai Chat house pump, Surau Tambatan, Malay Village Restaurant and Jalan Kampung Mohd Amin.
The weirs will be built upstream, starting from the Teachers Education Temenggong Ibrahim Campus to the Tanjung Nakhoda development site.
