SEREMBAN: Unusually heavy rainfall caused flash floods in several areas of Negri Sembilan, says Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (pic).
The Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar said the Meteorological Services Department station in Seremban and Rembau had received 93mm and 75mm of rainfall within two hours, respectively, which was way beyond normal levels.
"Despite the massive rainfall, the floods were not as bad as in 2021 as water levels in most areas rose between 0.3m to 0.6m.
"This time around, the water levels had also begun to recede within one to two hours," he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting at Wisma Negri on Wednesday (April 17).
He said businesses, especially those in the city and along Jalan Rasah, were also not affected as flood waters did not enter their premises.
Low-lying areas in several districts in the state were affected by flash floods on Tuesday (April 16) night and Wednesday morning, with most of the areas located in Seremban, Rembau and Port Dickson.
Aminuddin, who is also Port Dickson MP, said the floods would have been worse if there had been a high tide in Port Dickson.
"I must say we were fortunate as there were no reports of high tide in PD when flood waters rose upstream like in Seremban.
"The situation would have been worse as Sg Linggi had already burst its banks due to the heavy rainfall, including in Seremban," he said, adding that water levels at several rivers had also reached dangerous levels.
Among the areas affected in Seremban included Kg Ismail, Kg Semarak, Kg Singh, Blok B & C Ampangan, Kg Jiboi, Taman Happy, Kg Batu 3, Kg Kuala Sawah and Angsana Batu 5.
The affected area in Port Dickson was Permatang Pasir, while in Tembau, it was Titian Bintangor.
Aminuddin said that based on preliminary reports, 250 households were affected by the flash floods.
Damage to infrastructure, such as collapsed slopes and damaged facilities, amounted to some RM1mil.
"Due to the heavy rain, we also had to temporarily shut down a water treatment facility in Pantai as the water flowing down from Gunung Berembun was murky," he said.
Aminuddin admitted more areas would have been hit if the state government had failed to carry out any flood mitigation projects after the last floods in 2021.
He said this included deepening and widening several sections of Sg Linggi.
Phase five of the project from Rasah to Rantau would begin soon, he said.
As of 5pm, there are three flood relief centres in the state housing 79 individuals. These are in Permatang Pasir and Linggi (both Port Dickson) and Kg Nerambai (Rembau).
Aminuddin said the Welfare Department and Negri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Council have been assisting the flood victims with household stuff.
He said the state government would also seek more emergency aid from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
