PETALING JAYA: The collapse of Highland Towers in Ulu Klang, Selangor in December 1993 is one of the most tragic in the country’s history of landslides.
The landslide was triggered by heavy monsoon rain and aggravated by land clearing, improper drainage of water and a poorly constructed retaining wall.
A total of 48 people were killed when the 13-storey condominium gave way.
Landslides also occurred in the same area, near Bukit Antarabangsa, in May 1999 and December 2008.
The country is notoriously prone to landslides. In 2011, it was estimated that Malaysia experienced an average of about 100 landslides annually.
Some landslides go unnoticed but some resulted in blocked roads, expensive repairs of slopes and mass deaths.
The most tragic landslide was on Dec 26, 1996, when debris flow caused by tropical storm Gregg wiped out several villages in Keningau, Sabah, killing 302 persons.
Another landslide happened in Hulu Langat, Selangor in May 2011 which killed 16 people, many of whom were children.
Rapid development work and construction activities had been a major contributing factor to the landslides.
Penang saw tragic landslides at Bukit Kukus in October last year which killed nine construction workers, and in Tanjung Bungah in 2017 which claimed the lives of 11 people.
The Tanjung Bungah landslide resulted in a court case which ended with the construction project’s consultant engineer and firm fined RM40,000 each.
A landslide that caused massive traffic congestion occurred near Bukit Lanjan in December 2003. Although no fatalities were recorded, the rockfall at the New Klang Valley Expressway caused the expressway to be closed for six months.
The Public Works Department’s Slope Engineering Branch was set up in 2004, shortly after the incident.
However, landslides still continue to plague the nation to this day.
Only last week, a landslide took place at Jalan Genting-Amber Court in Genting Highlands. No casualties were reported.
Some 200 tourists had to be evacuated.
The landslide was triggered by heavy monsoon rain and aggravated by land clearing, improper drainage of water and a poorly constructed retaining wall.
A total of 48 people were killed when the 13-storey condominium gave way.
Landslides also occurred in the same area, near Bukit Antarabangsa, in May 1999 and December 2008.
The country is notoriously prone to landslides. In 2011, it was estimated that Malaysia experienced an average of about 100 landslides annually.
Some landslides go unnoticed but some resulted in blocked roads, expensive repairs of slopes and mass deaths.
The most tragic landslide was on Dec 26, 1996, when debris flow caused by tropical storm Gregg wiped out several villages in Keningau, Sabah, killing 302 persons.
Another landslide happened in Hulu Langat, Selangor in May 2011 which killed 16 people, many of whom were children.
Rapid development work and construction activities had been a major contributing factor to the landslides.
Penang saw tragic landslides at Bukit Kukus in October last year which killed nine construction workers, and in Tanjung Bungah in 2017 which claimed the lives of 11 people.
The Tanjung Bungah landslide resulted in a court case which ended with the construction project’s consultant engineer and firm fined RM40,000 each.
A landslide that caused massive traffic congestion occurred near Bukit Lanjan in December 2003. Although no fatalities were recorded, the rockfall at the New Klang Valley Expressway caused the expressway to be closed for six months.
The Public Works Department’s Slope Engineering Branch was set up in 2004, shortly after the incident.
However, landslides still continue to plague the nation to this day.
Only last week, a landslide took place at Jalan Genting-Amber Court in Genting Highlands. No casualties were reported.
Some 200 tourists had to be evacuated.
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