ALOR GAJAH: The Malacca government is optimistic that the problem of flash floods which often hit the state can be overcome in six more months through the implementation of four major initiatives to alleviate the woes of the people.
Malacca Chief Minister Adly Zahari (pix) said that the first initiative would be boosting the efficiency of the dam on the Malacca River which was among the major factors for the floods in the state via a RM10 million allocation from the federal government.
‘’Most of the floods in the upstream areas were caused by development activities but our dam cannot function maximally, resulting in floods.
‘’Our priority is to solve the issue of the dam by finding ways to boost its efficiency. Currently, it can only handle 30% of the (excess) water,’’ he said after visiting the flood victims at the temporary relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Belimbing Dalam here today.
Also present was Malacca Governor Tun Dr Mohd Khalil Yaakob also spent an hour to the relief centre. State Works, Transportation and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab was also present.
Adli said that the second initiative would be the RM270 million Malacca Flood Mitigation Project was still at the design stage.
He also said that the third initiative would be identifying those homes which were located on low lying areas, which resulted in the rather high number of flood victims, to be moved to more suitable locations through the “Rumah Peduli” mechanism.
‘’(Fourthly), we will also conduct an evaluation on all development projects in the state towards controlling incidents of flash floods (resulting from such projects),’’ he added.
As of 3.30pm, eight temporary relief centres had been opened in the state, housing 1,117 victims from 250 families including 343 victims at SK Belimbing Dalam following continuous rain from early yesterday morning. — Bernama
