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What Penang should do to alleviate floods in the state

Further to my recent contributions on what Penang could do or use to keep floods at bay, herein is something else the Penang government could do to take care of the problems.

The relevant heads of the local authorities in Penang should issue a directive to all responsible officers involved in flood control in the state to immediately stop raping the natural landscapes, forest, highlands and hills.

These places are covered with big trees.

That is, to get them not to cut down the big trees any more. These big trees are helping to cool down the environment while acting like a giant filter for the air we breathe.

In school we learnt at science class that trees will enrich the oxygen in the air since all trees and plants breathe in carbon dioxide during daytime but release oxygen in the process.

But for your information, do you know a big tree will draw in hundreds of litres of water in the daytime, thus reduced a large volume of water when it rained cats and dogs. That is why places with many big trees around are usually not flooded.

Besides, big trees have strong big roots to hold the soil/earth together and firmly. As a result, it prevents soil erosion or landslides from occurring during a rainstorm.

Yes, trees make the environment look serene and green and it is usually the place people go to, to feel good and refreshed.

In view of the above facts, big trees are really a big help to prevent a flood occurring in the neighbourhood. This is just one way to fight floods.

However, there are other ways to stop flooding such as making available a couple of water retention lakes or ponds nearby. These could be used to divert the flow of excess rain water into them, hopefully, to keep the area free from floods.

Also, the relevant authorities in Penang should do the needful to widen and deepen the drains to let water to flow quickly into the monsoon drains. If necessary, build dykes to prevent water overflowing into the road proper and along low-lying areas.

When the tides come in during a rainstorm, then, it will worsen the situations. So there is an urgency here to build dykes to raise a wall for all low-lying land - let alone to keep sea water rushing inland.

Well, with all these put in place, there is a chance to stop a flood from taking place again in Penang.


LAU BING is a community activist and writer in Subang Jaya.

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