KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Local councils within the Klang Valley are on standby to monitor and alert the public about any flash floods, and also are ready to deploy personnel while pursuing flood mitigation efforts, a report has said.
Local daily The Star reported that the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) is tracking the floods using real-time data and monitoring areas such as Taman Sri Muda, Taman Mesra, Kampung Kebun Bunga, Padang Jawa and Section 13.
The Star also reported that MBSA is also keeping watch to ensure its reservoirs and pumps are functioning.
As for Klang, which was also hard hit by floods last December like Shah Alam, Klang Municipal Council president Noraini Roslan was reported as saying that a quick response unit is on standby and that the council had increased its checks on drainage networks.
The Star also reported that the Klang Municipal Council was conducting online flood monitoring round-the-clock through closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs).
According to The Star, the Petaling Jaya City Council has found 34 flash floods hotspots and dedicated RM28 million for projects to mitigate floods, with city mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Amir saying that flood management would be for before, during and after floods.
The Star said the Subang Jaya City Council has activated the disaster operations room at its command centre and that the operations room was on standby since the monsoon season began.
As for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), The Star said it would put out alerts on its electronic billboards if warnings for floods are triggered, while its operations room would be activated for response coordination if there are flood victims.
The Star said local authorities are also carrying out upgrades and clearing of drains as a flood prevention measure.
A check by Malay Mail of the Shah Alam City Council’s Facebook page carried alerts from the Malaysian Meteorological Department of warnings about continuous rain or of thunderstorms in Selangor, with the latest posting today for example urging Shah Alam residents to take precautions and to follow instructions given by the authorities from time to time.
Malay Mail’s checks of the Subang Jaya City Council’s Facebook page meanwhile showed that it had on March 2 posted an alert to Subang Jaya residents following heavy rain, informing them of two locations where the water level had reached a warning level and urging them to be careful and to report any emergencies or disasters to the control centre.
Also posted on the Subang Jaya City Council’s Facebook posts in recent days was the mayor Datuk Johary Anuar’s site visits to areas that faced flooding, including to determine the cause of flooding at Persiaran Saujana Puchong and Kampung Baru Batu 14, Puchong and also stating the council’s plans to upgrade drainage next to the LDP highway to address flash floods in the area.
This afternoon, the Malaysian Meteorological Department issued a yellow warning for continuous rain forecasted to fall in Terengganu, Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin), Johor (Mersing and Kota Tinggi) until tomorrow. A yellow warning is the less severe of three categories of warning, and is issued when there are signs showing rain or thunderstorms taking place or expected to occur for more than six hours at one time in an area.
The department also issued an alert just before 3pm of thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong wind in Perak, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Sarawak, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor (Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Klang, Gombak, Petaling dan Hulu Langat.
Such warnings of thunderstorms are issued when there is a sign of such thunderstorms with rainfall intensity exceeding 20mm per hour that is near or forecasted to occur exceeding one hour.
The latest weather updates nationwide can be found on the Malaysian Meteorological Department’s Facebook page, which is updated throughout the day.
