SEREMBAN: Heavy rains and high tide battered several states recently, which resulted in heavy flooding in various locations.
Besides Perak, Kedah and Selangor, Negri Sembilan too was not spared from the disaster, with 20 houses including one school in Port Dickson were inundated by the flood, with water rising to 0.5 meters.
It came as a shock to many residents and villagers in Port Dickson, with some describing the latest incident as the worst flood incident in Port Dickson.
“Our village is often hit by flood, but normally it is not that bad. The water had never inundated our houses, but it is a different scenario this time around,” said Ahmad Nazari, 45, from Kampung Bagan Pinang, here.
“In a blink of an eye, the water suddenly rose and we didn’t get to save our belongings in time. It had never been this bad,” he said.
The flash flood which occurred following three-hour incessant rain had badly affected areas like Kampung Bagan Pinang, Kampung SiRusa Dalam, Pekan Port Dickson, Jalan Utama Sunggala Gate, Batu 8 Teluk Kemang and Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Port Dickson.
And although the flood had receded and the situation has returned to normal, the state government is in high gear to prevent the same incident recurring in the future.
Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said, the state Public Works Department has been instructed to conduct a thorough forensic studies to find new methods on how the flood incident could be avoided.
“We were thinking of building a water-gate barrier but we have come to a conclusion that the method will not be effective. We still need to let it open to allow the water flow to the sea, but when we do that, sea water will also be pushed back to the drainage system and cause flood in the low-lying areas in Port Dickson, especially in Teluk Kemang and Port Dickson town,” he said.
“I have instructed the Public Works Department to conduct the investigation as soon as possible. We will evaluate all possible methods to help lessen the risk of flash flood in the future,” said Mohamad after chairing the exco meeting at Wisma Negeri, Seremban here, today.
He added, the combination of heavy rains and high tide had also made the flash flood incident inevitable.
Meanwhile on another note, Mohamad said, the state’s first Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) is set to be operational early next year at Plaza Angsana, Ampangan here.
“The premises is currently undergoing upgrading works and it will offer numerous services to the public with various government agencies will be put under one roof. The premises is strategically located with easy access to the public,” he said.
He added, the second Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) will also be set up in Serting Jempol, following positive feedbacks towards state’s first RTC in Rembau.