KUANTAN, Dec 10 — The Kuantan Municipal Council (MPK) has attributed the recent floods in this town and nearby areas to the unusually heavy rainfall and denied that the allegedly unmanaged drainage system was the primary cause.

MPK president Datuk Zulkifli Yaakob said the main cause of the floods was the 970mm of rainfall, equivalent to the amount of rainfall for three months, which was experienced for three days from December 1.

“The heavy rainfall caused the major rivers in Kuantan to burst their banks,” he told reporters here.

Zulkifli said the MPK had deepened and cleaned ditches and drains in the town over the past year to prevent a recurrence of the flash floods of last year.

“As a result, the floods in the town centre before this were not severe,” he added.

He also said that the MPK had begun the process of clearing the bulk and domestic refuse as the floodwaters receded in the affected areas, such as Sungai Isap, Permatang Badak and Cenderawasih.

“It is estimated that each of the 7,000 houses in the affected areas had collected up to 1.5 tonnes of bulk refuse.

“As such, the MPK requires time, of about two weeks or until the end of the month, to clear all the rubbish. It is hoped that the people will be patient,” he said.

Zulkifli said the cleaning process might take time because the MPK-appointed contractor had a limited number of vehicles as 20 of them were damaged by floodwaters.

“However, we are doing our best with assistance from the local authorities of Temerloh, Jerantut and Kuala Lumpur City Hall as well as volunteers from the other states,” he said.

He advised the people not to throw refuse all over the place but to discard them at certain spots to facilitate collection by the MPK. — Bernama