Tuesday June 19, 2007
Flash floods not easy to resolve
At the Dewan Rakyat
Reports by ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN, ELIZABETH LOOI AND FLORENCE A. SAMY
DESPITE billions of ringgit spent to reduce the flood problem in Kuala Lumpur, the issue cannot be completely resolved, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.
“We can overcome storm floods because the water that flows from the Klang Gates Dam will be channelled to ponds and the SMART Tunnel.
“But we cannot overcome flash floods completely because there will always be new areas that get them due to development – even after we have resolved the problem in some areas,” he said.
Citing Dang Wangi and Bangsar as examples, he said after the Government overcame the flood problems there, other areas started to flood because development had crept into the new areas.
“The problem is, there is too much development and concrete surface. If there were trees, the water will flow slowly. So now, we are trying to slow the water down by containing them in ponds,” he told a press conference at Parliament lobby yesterday.
Azmi said the SMART Tunnel and water retention ponds were built to prevent storm floods and could only help to resolve some of the flash floods. This was because the flash floods were normally due to local problems such as clogged and broken drains.
Unlike storm floods that happen because riverbanks burst, flash floods occur because there is no way for the collected rainwater to flow out, said Azmi.
He advised consumers not to throw rubbish into the drains if they do not want flash floods in their area.
On whether the Government would compensate those affected by the recent floods in the city, he said the Cabinet had not yet decided on the matter.
He reminded, however, that during the massive floods in Johor, the Government only provided aid to the victims and had not compensated them.
Earlier, while winding up the debate on an emergency motion by Fong Kui Lun (DAP – Bukit Bintang) on the recent floods in Kuala Lumpur, Azmi said the flood channel in the SMART Tunnel was now 98.9% completed. It would be fully operational by next month, as scheduled.
Azmi added that the Batu-Jinjang water retention ponds and related flood diversions would be completed in December and operational a month later.
In tabling the motion, Fong said many businesses suffered damage during the floods.
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