PETALING JAYA, May 10 — An audit of the drainage system in flood-prone areas will be conducted by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to enhance public safety.
Its Mayor Dato’ Mohamad Zahri Samingon said the focus will be on locations that experience frequent flooding, and on drains with rotten or damaged covers to prevent the public from falling in.
MBPJ has taken note of the recommendation made by Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari to take such action following a recent drowning incident involving two children.
“For reasons of such falls, we will investigate. If it is due to rotten or old drains, perhaps the covers have aged for years, or over 10 years, we will review, and it will require costs.
“Therefore, we will carry this out in phases, starting with flood hotspots first,” he said after officiating the Toy Library@Apartment Desa Mutiara today.
Zahri acknowledged that several locations in Petaling Jaya are old buildings with drainage systems that can no longer sustain heavy rainfall.
The local authority is identifying residential areas where drains have been covered by other parties' self-construction, making maintenance difficult and potentially causing drainage blockages.
“Per the Irrigation and Drainage Department’s formula, if rainfall exceeds 60mm within an hour, our drains will definitely be unable to sustain the volume of water, and flash floods will inevitably occur.
“Now we are in the process of addressing residential areas where drains have been covered up. We will issue notices first, requesting homeowners to reopen them, or if they wish to keep them covered, there must be gaps or openings available for us to clean them up,” he said.
On Monday (May 4), Amirudin said that the safety audit of high-risk drains would be conducted following two recent cases of children drowning in the state.
Previously, it was reported that the body of Khairil Izani Khaizalullinudin, 10, was found on the banks of Sungai Buloh in Ijok, about 10km from where he was reported missing after being swept away.
Meanwhile, the body of Nur Qaseh Deandra Mohd Qayyum, nine, was found in Sungai Langat, around 11km from the location where she fell into a drain in Bandar Mahkota Cheras.
