NOVEMBER 10 — The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) is concerned over the recent flash floods and landslides that occurred in Ringlet and Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands on November 5 and 7, 2014 which claimed five lives and damaged a lot of property.
As pointed out by the relevant authority, the root cause of such massive flooding which has been occurring quite frequently in recent years is the excessive land clearing in Cameron Highlands; mainly for agricultural purpose. The uncontrolled extensive land clearing in the highlands has resulted in tremendous amount of soil erosion which in turn caused the Ringlet Lakes and both the Ringlet River as well as Bertam River to be heavily silted up. The indiscriminate dumping of rubbish such as plastic sheets used by the farmers is another contributing factor that chokes the drains and rivers. In the event of a heavy rain, both the Ringlet and Bertam River would not be able to cater for the huge amount of stormwater, hence causing the muddy rivers to overflow and flood the riverbanks and the surrounding low lying areas.
IEM welcomes the Government initiative in taking the necessary structural flood mitigation measures such as deepening and widening of the rivers. But the time has come to put an immediate freeze to the excessive land clearing in the highlands where the terrain is steep.
Any further opening up of the highlands will definitely aggravate the problem of soil erosion and increase the risk of flooding. The long term solution lies in the control of land use and the relevant authorities must be serious in tackling the root cause.
For the existing areas that have already being opened up, the authorities should ensure that the land owners or operators take the necessary measures to reduce soil erosion. Plastic “houses” which have been used extensively by farmers to shelter their vegetable farms in the hilly slopes of Cameron Highlands should have proper water retention facilities so that when it rains, some of the stormwater flowing to the rivers can be controlled and held back at source.
There must be an integrated approach to solve the recurrent flooding and landslide problem which should include controlled land use and land clearing, the application of best agricultural management practices, the relocation of squatters along river reserves, the appropriate flood mitigation measures and the necessary flood forecasting and warning system. In order to prevent further loss of lives, it is important to formulate the Cameron Highlands Disaster Prevention Master Plan urgently. IEM with its available resources is willing to assist the Government with the necessary technical advice in the preparation of such master plan.
IEM wishes to extend our sympathies and condolences to the families of the flood victims in Ringlet and the Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands.
Press statement issued by Datuk Lim Chow Hock, president of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia on November 8, 2014
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
