Johor Housing and Local Government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor (in pink bat
KULAI: More than 100 flood hotspots have been identified in all 16 local council areas in Johor, many of them in the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) area, says state exco member Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.
The housing and local government committee chairman said the state government and MBJB are looking into building a new flood wall equipped with a pump system to drain floodwater into the sea.
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“If we look at this morning (Sunday, Sept 25) alone, the heavy rainfall did not even last for two hours but the road along Wisma Persekutuan has been flooded.
"So, as a temporary measure, we (encourage) those who park their cars around the area to move them away on rainy days.
“Of the 106 hotspots (identified) in the state, 36 are in the MBJB area,” he said after a handing-over ceremony for diploma and degree student aid at Dewan Serbaguna Taman Puteri here.
Sunday's flash flood resulted from the heavy rainfall being met by high tide, preventing water from flowing into the sea, he explained.
“One of the long-term solutions is to build a flood wall that will prevent seawater from (rising and flowing into) water outlets and a pump system to simultaneously drain rainwater into the sea.
“The short-term solution is to clean every monsoon drain regularly and ensure that they are not blocked by garbage,” he said, adding that this is the common cause of flash floods on roads.
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Mohd Jafni also said the state government will be looking at upgrading old monsoon drains to make sure they can channel large amounts of rainwater into rivers or the sea.
“Some of the culverts or monsoon drains we have were built 20 years ago and have not been upgraded to meet the current (situation).
“There is a need to set up a special task force for this – not only to identify the old drainage systems (in need of upgrading) but also to ensure that every new project or development has an adequate water system that can be sustainable,” he said.
On the aid programme, Mohd Jafni, who is also Yayasan Sejahtera Kulai chairman, said 33 students from Kulai received a total of RM22,000 in financial assistance for their studies.
