State govt finding ways to overcome flash floods in Johor Bahru
He said the flash floods incident, which has hit several areas in the city since noon, was caused by excessive rainfall and the high tide phenomenon...
The Johor government will look at appropriate measures to overcome flash floods in the city, Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said.
He said the flash floods incident, which has hit several areas in the city since noon, was caused by excessive rainfall and the high tide phenomenon.
“The flood was due to the rapid rise in water levels and I was informed that in an hour, the rainfall reached up to 100 millimetres (mm) compared to the usual 10mm to 20mm.
“This had caused flash floods not only in Johor Bahru but around the Sultanah Aminah Hospital as well. The high tides also prevented the floodwater from flowing out,” he told reporters after observing the flood-affected area in Jalan Air Molek in Johor Bahru last night.
Onn Hafiz said he has asked the local authorities and the state Public Works, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairperson Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh to take immediate action so that the problem would not recur.
At the same time, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage would carry out works to pump out floodwaters from the affected areas.
“The DID will also improve the pumping system to accommodate the higher water capacity,” he said.
The heavy rain since 12.30pm yesterday resulted in several main roads in the city being inundated, such as Jalan Ayer Molek, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Jalan Kolam Air and Jalan Yahya Awal.
About 500 vehicles were submerged in the water, while Kampung Baru Mohd Amin was among the areas flooded, but there was no evacuation.
Johor Bahru Mayor Mohd Noorazam Osman said the floods were caused by heavy rainfall with an intensity of almost 100mm, starting from 1.40pm and a high tide of 3.3 metres at 1.55pm.
Mohd Noorazam said a reading exceeding 60mm in rainfall intensity was considered very heavy (red level).
He said in anticipation of the high tide yesterday, the Sungai Segget water gate was closed at 10.51am, which was three hours before the high tide, while the pump and tidal valve systems at the Sungai Chat, Parit Utama Abdul Samad and Sungai Ayer Molek river mouths were functioning well at the time of the incident.
"The Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) has taken immediate actions, including going to the site during heavy rain to ensure the main pumps were functioning well and to monitor the areas hit by flash floods.
"MBJB has issued the Act 33 Land Work Warning Notice to three developers for failure to control land development works in MBJB areas and for causing the flash floods,” Mohd Noorazam said in a statement issued yesterday evening.
- Bernama
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