Flash floods: Five warning sirens to be installed in federal capital - Jalaluddin

KUALA LUMPUR - Five warning sirens will be installed in the federal capital in to provide early warning to city dwellers on the possibility of flash floods, said Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias.

He said preliminary work had started for the installation of the siren at Lorong Kiri Keramat 15, Chan Sow Lin Tunnel, Taman U-Thant, Jalan Sembilan in Kg Cheras Baru and Sg Kayu Ara.

Installation of the warning system is one of the initiatives taken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in increasing assets for flood disaster management, apart from the installation of an additional 51 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in flood hotspot areas, he added.

He said 13 CCTVs had been installed, with the remaining in the process of installation.

"We know that the Smart Tunnel can help reduce or prevent flash floods, but that cannot cover all the areas in Kuala Lumpur.

"As such, DBKL has taken several approaches to provide an early warning system to the community and city dwellers on the possibility of flash floods," he said.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Che Abdullah Mat Nawi (PAS-Tumpat) on the effectiveness of the Smart Tunnel in dealing with flash floods in the federal capital.

To a supplementary question from Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut) on whether the Civil Engineering and Drainage Department at DBKL team would be enlarged, Jalaludin said his department was looking into the matter to carry out slope and hilly monitoring tasks.

He said the department currently had a strength of 300 people.

There are 3,441 hilly and slope areas in Kuala Lumpur that need to be monitored,” he added.

Earlier, to an original question from Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PH-Setiawangsa), Jalaluddin said approval by the Kuala Lumpur Drainage Irrigation Department is a mandatory condition for development order can be approved.

This is apart from the requirement for developers to obtain the Traffic Impact Assessment Report under the DBKL Infrastructure Planning Department and the Environmental Impact Assessment under the Department of Environment, Environment and Water Ministry (Kasa), he added.

Nik Nazmi wanted to know Kuala Lumpur's preparedness to face the effects of the increasingly extreme climate, including floods and landslides in the next 20 years. - BERNAMA