Flood prevention in Selangor has received a boost through a Federal Government allocation while the state DID says that floods are caused by heavy rain, overflowing rivers, poor drainage and a combination of heavy rain and high tide. — Filepic
Federal Government has allocated RM1.69bil to Selangor Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to implement five high-priority flood mitigation projects in Klang, Petaling and Sepang districts.
Selangor DID director Nasser Salim said apart from the flood mitigation projects, the department had also implemented projects to stabilise and strengthen riverbanks, upgrade drainage and other projects related to the high tide phenomenon.
“As the implementation of long-term projects will take some time, the state government has also channelled allocations to Selangor DID to implement medium and short-term projects, involving flood hotspot areas,” he told Bernama.
Nasser emphasised that cooperation between the federal and state governments was crucial, especially for medium-term projects which focused on 79 hotspots where floods often occurred, and 354 areas at risk of flooding in Selangor.
Nasser said the department had taken immediate action to carry out repair or drainage work, based on complaints received.
He said Selangor DID also supplied, among other things, 123 mobile water pump units for urgent works, such as in Meru, where stagnant water was reported.
The pumps will help speed up the flow of water out of villages or residential areas, directly to the river and sea.
He also emphasised that several flood warning systems had been developed, including a siren system and sending information via SMS to warn residents in the event of a flood.
“The department also conducts annual maintenance work to ensure drainage capacity is at an optimal level before the northeast monsoon season,” he said.
In the meantime, Nasser said identified causes of flooding were heavy rain, overflowing river water, absence of a working drainage system and the combination of heavy rain and high tide.
He said the state DID had also addressed flooding in Selangor by requiring construction of water catchments based on 100 ARI (Average Recurrence Interval) for each land development application.
He added that the catchment design should also be considered as a key parameter in the preparation of a detailed drainage master plan.
