THE authorities must come up with a more comprehensive flood mitigation plan to prevent future catastrophic floods similar to that which had occurred in Selangor (December 2021), Pahang (January 2022) and Kedah (July 2022), said Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).
While high rainfall is one of the main factors for floods in Malaysia, the party noted that other factors were equally to be blamed, including unplanned developments, maintenance failures, periodic river-deepening works and the destruction of the environment in the name of economic development.
“Political leaders should stop blaming each other and instead work together to find short- and long-term solutions to minimise the impact of floods especially in high-risk areas,” said PBM information chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid.
“Additional allocations should also be provided to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and local authorities (PBT) for the cleaning of drainage systems and deepening rivers affected by erosion.”
To prevent floods in urban areas, Zakaria said that more studies need to be carried out before any development is approved, while for rural areas, one of the main factors that need to be examined by the authorities is the deforestation problem which occurs on a large scale due to agricultural development and logging.
“We also hope that the federal and state governments as well as disaster management and environmental management experts can study and formulate a truly effective action plan to address the flood problem in our country,” he remarked.
“PBM believes that if a truly comprehensive and holistic action plan can be created, our country will be able to address the flood problems here, now and for the future.”
In the July 4 incident in Baling, Kedah, more than 800 houses in 12 villages here were inundated. It was the worst flood ever recorded in Kupang, triggered by a water column that began upstream on Gunung Inas.
Strong currents swept away 16 houses, seriously damaged 18 homes and left more than 700 homes with minor damage.
A pregnant woman, her mother-in-law and her 14-year-old brother-in-law died after their house in Kampung Iboi was swept away during the floods. – July 14, 2022
Main photo credit: The Vibes
