‘Put safety measures into place at construction sites’

Painful ordeal: The search and rescue operation by the Fire and Rescue Department is still ongoing while a survivor has been sent to hospital.

KLANG: All local councils in the state have been advised by the Selangor Disaster Management Unit to initiate necessary measures to prevent rain-related mishaps from occurring at construction sites.

The unit’s head Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Yusof said the local councils have been told to ask construction sites to install sufficient mitigation to prevent and counter landslides, debris flow and mud flood.

“These are all man-made disasters that can be prevented if the necessary mitigation was in place,” said Ahmad Fairuz when contacted.

He said since the monsoon season is expected to start next week and will last until January, everyone concerned have been cautioned.

“With the rain comes flash floods and landslides can happen if there are exposed slopes as a lot of absorption will take place and the ground will become soggy and heavy,” he said.

Ahmad Fairuz added that it would be only a matter of time before a landslide occurs if the slopes that have been cut-up are not properly covered.

“We have also advised for water management run off at construction sites because a bad flow will also cause landslides,”’ added Ahmad Fairuz.

In Johor Baru, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) centre of geotropic director Prof Edy Tonnizam Mohamad said heavy rainfalls and major development projects taking place at hillside areas will see high chances of landslide happening frequently nationwide.

“We see developers cutting slope to make way for their project at hillside areas and this is a major concern especially in a tropic country like Malaysia,” he said when contacted here yesterday.