PETALING JAYA: The flash floods that struck Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday serve as a wake-up call for the authorities to take necessary preventive measures, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
The Alliance for A Safe Community chairman said drastic steps must also be taken to improve the drainage system in the nation’s capital.
“The fact is that there are loads of ongoing development activities there and the drainage system may not be able to cope with it.
“This (flash floods) is a problem that has been faced for many years. Everytime a prolonged heavy shower occurs, many roads will potentially face this,” he said on Wednesday (Oct 16).
With Budget 2025 set to be tabled on Friday (Oct 18), Lee suggested for bigger allocations to address flash floods in Kuala Lumpur.
At the same time, he said nature should not always be blamed during flash flood incidents.
“We must be able to anticipate and address such issues through comprehensive development plans to improve the drainage systems.
“This too may require a special budget,” he added.
Kuala Lumpur came to a halt on Tuesday (Oct 15) after a heavy morning downpour saw numerous roads inundated by flood waters.
A landslide also occurred at Taman Melawati owing to the heavy morning shower.
Footage of several cars being submerged by the floods at a stretch along the Middle Ring Road 2 highway also made its rounds on social media.
Severe flooding also occurred at the roads leading to Universiti Malaya’s Kuala Lumpur gate, reaching a waist-level height.
Flash floods also occurred along the LDP highway between Bandar Utama and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
The SMART Tunnel was also closed for flood operations on Tuesday before being reopened at about 3.40pm.
The heavy downpour also saw a kindergarten in Hulu Kelang inundated with knee-high floodwaters.
Operations of the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit line were also disrupted after tracks between the Sri Rampai and Wangsa Maju stations became flooded.
The rains also led to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul calling for a temporary halt to Parliament proceedings as several MPs were stuck in floods.
