JOHOR BAHRU: Flash floods hit the city yesterday following a heavy downpour as well as high tide which further compelled the situation.
State Housing and Local Government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said according to the Irrigation and Drainage Department's report, exceptionally heavy rain that started at 1.30pm continued until 5 pm which surpassed a reading of 60 millimetres (mm) which is three times heavier than the reading of between 10mm and 20mm.
"Yesterday it was high tide with waves rising between 2.7m to 2.9m in Selat Johor and rain water could not flow out into the sea, thus causing flash floods in several parts of the city.
Though the Irrigation and Drainage Department had utilised all the water pumps in efforts to drain out water, the water level was so high that the efforts were fruitless.
"The situation saw 38 locations in the city affected by flash floods, especially Jalan Ayer Molek, Jalan Kolam Air, Kampung Mohd Amin, Jalan Yahya Awal and Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru," he said after chairing a special team to mitigate flash floods at Menara Majlis Bandaraya Johor Baru, here today.
Through the meeting, various initiatives and solutions were laid out to overcome the issue of flash floods in Greater Johor Baru which comprise Johor Baru, Iskandar Puteri, Pasir Gudang and Kulai.
Meanwhile, he added that the state government had allocated RM66.09 million to tackle floods in Greater Johor Baru next year compared with RM55.01 million allocated this year.– BERNAMA