By Media Selangor Team
SHAH ALAM, Feb 23 – The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has clarified that clogged drains, a shallow retention pond within a private lot and extreme rainfall were among the main causes of the flash floods that struck Jalan Sri Manja and the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) near Taman Dato’ Harun on November 17 and December 30 last year.
The December 30 incident forced a partial closure of the expressway.
The Star reported that MBPJ said investigations found the Sri Manja retention pond to be shallow, with surrounding earth drains clogged by silt and rubbish, restricting water flow.
“The flooding was caused by extreme rainfall, rising river levels, and the area’s low-lying terrain.
“A total of 182 mm of rain fell within two hours, exceeding the capacity of most urban drainage systems,” the city council was quoted as saying by the English daily.
It added that water level at the confluence of Sungai Klang and Sungai Punchala surged and triggered backflow, resulting in flood depths of up to 400 mm.
MBPJ said it had cleaned and desilted drains along affected stretches and deployed mobile pumps, while directing the developer to clean, widen, and deepen the drain and to install a trash trap at the inlet.
The affected stretch of the NPE at KM18.9 near Jalan Sri Manja has recorded 17 flood incidents since 2015, with disruptions worsening in recent years.
In a separate article, The Star reported that New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd general manager Ong See Chang said the recurring floods along its highway were linked to the long-standing upstream drainage constraints and maintenance shortcomings involving drains under the MBPJ, as well as retention ponds on private land with limited capacity.
“Heavy rain merely exposed the infrastructure that is struggling to cope with increasing development in the surrounding area,” he said.
Ong added that the existing drainage sump systems, including a triple-cell culvert of about 0.6 m in diameter, was no longer sufficient to handle increased stormwater volume, leading to overflow during heavy downpour.
He said frequency and severity of flooding had intensified, with the affected stretch of the highway forced to close completely twice last year, and called for improvements to the overall drainage system as well as stricter development controls in flood-prone areas.
Meanwhile, MBPJ said it has applied to the Housing and Local Government Ministry for RM2 million to install permanent pumps at four key locations, but approval has so far been granted only for the RM600,000 Skalis project in Jalan Sri Manja.
“We hope landowners, developers, and local communities can work together to maintain drainage systems within their lands and avoid illegal dumping,” it said.
