PUTRAJAYA, May 13 — The flash floods that struck Kuala Lumpur yesterday happened as the drainage system is not capable of accommodating rainfall intensity of over 80mm per hour, a minister said today.
Yesterday evening saw a continuous rainfall of 120mm to 140mm per hour intensity for two straight hours, according to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
“The culverts, which are the most important component of a drainage system, were built as such that they are wide on top but narrower at the bottom.
“Therefore when heavy rain falls continuously, the culverts could not withstand it and water will overflow on the ground surface and that is how flash floods happen,” he told a press conference here.
The flash floods brought traffic to a halt at several major roads in the capital, including Jalan Semantan, Jalan Bangsar, Jalan Pudu and Jalan Pantai Baru.
Wan Junaidi also quashed claims that the flash floods happened due to the failure to activate the Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel (Smart tunnel) in Kuala Lumpur.
“Our Smart tunnel system works fine, but it could not be activated yesterday to divert the water away as the rainfall was concentrated in neighbouring areas, not in its vicinity,” he said.
“There were reports claiming the floods happened due to the drains being clogged with leaves or sediments. On some degree, this might be true. We need to come up with a better mechanism for maintenance work so we can reduce the chances of flash floods happening,” he added.
