PUTRAJAYA: Land use activities may have contributed to the debris flood incident in Bukit Tinggi in Bentong, says the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry.
It said the activity to clear land for agriculture and the use of unsuitable irrigation systems for crops led to the high erosion rate in the area.
It said checks by the Bentong Forest Office using drones found a landslide along the banks of Sungai Tanglir in the Bukit Tinggi forest reserve, which had been encroached for farming activities, involving an area of 2.02ha.
“Enforcement action was imposed in March. The area has been replanted with trees and checks are being conducted to identify other areas that might have been encroached near the site,” it said in a statement, Bernama reported.
On Saturday, after three hours of moderate intensity rain, a debris flood occurred, which inundated several houses and business premises with an average depth of 0.3m to 0.6m of floodwater.
