IPOH, Sept 24 — The recent flash floods in Perak were primarily due to the exceptionally heavy or extraordinary rainfall, said state Department of Drainage and Irrigation director Ahmad Shahrir Md Naziri.
DID discovered some flood incidents were due to rainfall over 50 ARI (average recurrence interval), an exceptionally high reading for small rivers.
“In Perak, most of the flooding occurred in areas with relatively narrow rivers, and their usual capacity can handle only about two to five ARI.
“So, we have implemented various methods to address this matter. For your information, we carried out flood preparedness programmes earlier, which ran smoothly.
"However, it was somewhat surprising because floods occurred while the construction process was still underway,” he said at a media conference earlier today.
Ahmad Shahrir added that for any ongoing flood preparedness projects, instructions have been issued to expedite them.
Earlier, he attended the state-level World Rivers Day celebration and the launching of Friends of Kinta River Basin (FOKiRB) by the state Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transportation Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
As of this morning, the State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat, in a statement, said the number of flood victims rose to 38 people from 35 from eight families yesterday placed at the temporary relief centre in SK Changkat Lobak in Kerian district.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Nizar said FOKiRB, established last year, has 40 members from 17 community groups or local organisations near the Sungai Kinta catchment area.
“The members have been empowered in the healthcare of Sungai Kinta, serving as the eyes and ears for government agencies and departments to monitor and report incidences of pollution,” he said.
Members of FOKiRB, community groups and Kinta district DID today received appreciation certificates and river monitoring kits to assist in carrying out river maintenance activities in their respective areas.
— Bernama
