KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — The Flood Warning Balloon system, launched by Kuala Lumpur City Hall last month, is temporarily inoperative after the balloon was found to be punctured.
The balloon was placed at flood-prone Kampung Kasipillay in Jalan Ipoh.
“The balloon was brought down on Jan 7 as it was punctured and the inlet port damaged,” said City Hall public works and irrigation department director Tan Keng Chok.
“We suspect it was an act of vandalism as we found traces of fireworks at the site.”
Tan said the balloon would usually require weekly maintenance, including filling it with helium gas.
“We felt this is the best time to carry out maintenance work as the weather has been fine with low possibility of storms and floods in the area,” he said.
Several Kampung Kasipillay residents alerted The Malay Mail after the balloon went “missing” for almost two weeks.
Tan said City Hall was still studying the effectiveness of the system before installing it in other parts of Kuala Lumpur.
“There have been proposals to instal to install the system in other flood-prone areas such as Segambut but we have yet to make any decision,” he said.
The RM120,000 project, a joint effort between City Hall and the Drainage and Irrigation Department, was launched by mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib on Dec 15.
Located next to Sungai Batu, the system is to alert residents and motorists when water rises above the danger level.
The siren will go off while the balloon will rise in stages, between 50m and 70m, if the water reaches critical level.
