SHAH ALAM, April 11: More areas in the Kota Kemuning state constituency of Selangor were affected by the floods that hit the area early Friday morning following a heavy downpour of rain that began late Thursday night (April 10).
What is worrying is that this morning’s flood had extended to new areas, said Kota Kemuning assemblyman Preakas Sampunathan, in a statement seeking immediate intervention from the Menteri Besar of Selangor to resolve the flood issue faced by the people here.
The affected areas included Taman Sri Muda, Taman Desa Kemuning, Kampung Bukit Lanchong, Bukit Kemuning dan Kampung Lanchong Jaya, where thousands of people live and will now once again face a recurring problem that remains unresolved, he said.
The present mitigating systems are just not working sufficiently or the action to operate them was not timely, he said, adding that while the heavy rains started around late Thursday night, the pump was activated only at 3 this morning.
Even then, the flooding still took place, showing that the existing system was not enough.
While the state government has taken a lot of effort and invested in flood mitigation projects, but when the floods happen again, it is clear that the repair and maintenance works of the contractors involved need to be closely monitored, Preakas said.
He also hoped for better coordination between technical agencies like the Department of Drainage and Irrigation and the local authorities and added that the people were not blaming anyone but just want a resolution to their long standing problem.
They cannot afford to be moving again or losing their properties repeatedly, he added.
–WE