The Taman Nusa Bayu residential area in Iskandar Puteri, after a heavy downpour. — Filepic
Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) has identified seven locations within its jurisdiction as flash flood hotspots.
These areas are prone to flooding during any continuous downpour that lasts more than an hour or two.
Iskandar Puteri mayor Datuk Haffiz Ahmad said the flash floods also occurred when there was more rainfall than usual or when nearby rivers overflowed.
He said the locations regularly hit by flash floods include Taman Syed Idrus and Kampung Muafakat in Gelang Patah as well as Taman Damai Jaya and Kampung Batu 8½ in Skudai.
Kampung Laut Batu 10, Skudai, Kampung Tuah Jaya in Taman Perling and Taman Ungku Tun Aminah are also among the locations identified.
“The possibility of Taman Syed Idrus and Taman Damai Jaya getting hit by flash floods is higher as they are located near rivers,” he told StarMetro.
Haffiz said the council had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to address flooding problems near the rivers.
He said flood mitigation projects within the city council’s jurisdiction were being implemented by DID as it involved rivers under the latter’s purview.
“We are allocating RM15mil yearly to upgrade, repair and maintain the existing drainage systems and retention ponds.”
He added that for new developments, construction of retention ponds would be required for projects exceeding 5ha.
Haffiz said this was to prevent rainwater from flowing into existing drainage systems or rivers, thus reducing the risk of flash floods.
Separately, he said the council was allocating RM475,000 this year for the Education Sustainability Programme Local Agenda21 to improve awareness on environmental protection.
He said 112 schools in MBIP areas have been invited to participate in the year-long programme that would end in December.
“Participating schools will be judged based on several criteria, such as greening efforts, solid waste composting, recycling initiatives as well as canteen and toilet cleanliness,” said Haffiz.
He said the auditing criteria for this year had been improved by including school environmental safety and health elements as well as a competition on safety posters and videos.
“This is to foster awareness and the importance of school safety.”
He said the MBIP programme, which comes under the Iskandar Puteri Low-Carbon Initiative, had received support from academicians, government agencies and industry players.
They include the Johor Education Department, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and SWM Environment Sdn Bhd.
The Taman Nusa Bayu residential area in Iskandar Puteri, after a downpour. — Filepic
