JOHOR BARU: The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) will be taking steps to address flash floods here following a recent episode where parts of the city were inundated.
Mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman said the council was coming up with short and long term solutions to solve the issue as an additional measure to the flood mitigation efforts done under the now-completed phase two of the Sungai Segget Rejuvenation Project.
“In the recent incident, an extraordinary amount of rainfall of 48mm, which is equivalent to two months’ rain, fell within four hours causing flash floods in various areas including Jalan Tebrau and Taman Suria.
“This shows the existing drainage system is no longer adequate.
“Among other reasons for the flash floods at non-flood prone areas are due to the ongoing construction projects and old sewerage systems that are more than 100 years old so in order to cater to future needs, we have to take long-term measures,” he said.
Noorazam was speaking to the media after attending the unveiling of Sungai Segget’s new image by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi here on Monday (May 30).
He also said that the flash flood in Larkin Idaman last week was due to the railway track construction there.
“This is not to say that the developer did not carry out flood mitigation efforts but soil erosion took place there, causing a backflow,” he added.
In his speech at the event earlier, Onn Hafiz told the relevant agencies to look into flash flood issues as part of the state’s efforts to create a livable and vibrant Johor Baru.
It was reported that a heavy downpour caused flash floods to hit several parts of the city here, causing panic with even the police having to close a road for public safety.
Flash floods started to appear within 10 minutes after the downpour started at about 2.15pm, affecting roads such as Jalan Tebrau, Jalan Serampang and Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.
A policeman was seen closing off vehicle access to Jalan Tun Abdul Razak due to rising flood waters.
A video making rounds on social media shows flash floods hitting Jalan Tebrau, with a car stranded in the water.
However, flood waters quickly receded when the heavy rain stopped at around 4pm.
