Floods

theborneopost.comPosted on December 10, 2019, Tuesday at 12:09 AM

GM: Masterplan study proposals to be presented to BDA management board | Borneo Post Online

Rodziah shows the final report of the masterplan study.

BINTULU:  A few recommendations have been received following the completion of the Stormwater Management and Urban Drainage Masterplan Study for Bintulu town in 2018, especially to prevent flash floods, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) general manager Rodziah Morshidi has said.
She said the study was conducted by a private consultant, Jurutera Jasa (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, after Bintulu was hit with major floods in 2014.
Rodziah said the finding of the study had been presented and tabled to the BDA Management Board.
She added the same consultant was appointed to look into the best way to address the flash floods at Kampung Assyakirin and the surrounding areas.
As for Kampung Kemunting, she said the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) had their own plan which would be finalised and presented to the Bintulu Division Flood Technical Committee chaired by Bintulu Resident.
“However the plans by DID and BDA will need time to be implemented, so if there are heavy rains in the coming days, or weeks surely the same issue will crop up.
“So we want understanding from people in the villages to expect any torrential rain that will happen to cause the same effect, because what we plan will take time,” she said.
Rodziah was addressing a press conference after chairing a dialogue with DID and representatives from the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) of Kampung Assyakirin at Wisma Bintulu yesterday.
She said BDA had received very good feedback from the representatives of the JKKK of Kpg Assyakirin over the proposals recommended by BDA and Jurutera Jasa (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd.
The objective of the dialogue, she added, was to get more feedback from the affected villagers on what is implementable under the masterplan study.
Rodziah also said another meeting would be conducted with the consultant to look at the proposals from the JKKK before presenting them to the committee at the divisional level on Dec 12.
When asked for the exact date of implementation, she said BDA had to look at the budget because all of the recommendations were not allocated for, especially the DID projects.
Topping the list of the DID projects, she said, is to deepen and dredge  Sungai Sebiew as 80 per cent the flood water flow down to Sg Sebiew.
“The state government has decided for DID projects to use BDA funding, but we have to bid under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“BDA will have to look at extra allocation, the budget now that has been approved, and any additional budget will go through the same procedure,” she added.
DID Bintulu divisional engineer Henry Tuah said Sg Sebiew should be the priority.
“Most of the outlets end up at the Sebiew river, in terms of catchment about 80 per cent of the flash water flow to Sg Sebiew,” he said.

My comments:
        I blame the authorities concerned for not preparing themselves well enough to protect the people from flood-prone areas.  Only when the areas are submerged, the high ranking official start panicked a bit.  And they will show you the plans they have to mitigate the floods which they often blame the abnormal climatic conditions for the cause.  They behave as helpless a baby.  But when the water has subsided, they will forget as soon until the next cycle which i believe will become more frequent than ever before. 
        To save Sarawak from the plague of floods, I call Sarawak to rise up to uproot the present government for good.  I believe that breaking this political and the economic monopoly is the only way out for Sarawak to enjoy a better standards of living and we will stop all these woes of floods.  Give your tickets to Parti Bumi Kelayang for a try, why not?

Floods

theborneopost.comPosted on December 10, 2019, Tuesday at 12:08 AM

Residents of flood-prone areas in Bintulu told to be more vigilant | Borneo Post Online

(Seated from right) Dino, Haidar, Rodziah and Henry with other officers and representatives of Kpg Assyakirin JKKK gather for a group photo after the dialogue.

BINTULU: Residents of flood-prone areas should be more vigilant in view of the torrential rain expected in the coming weeks.
In giving the advice, Bintulu district officer Muhammad Dino Amid said it is important for the people to prepare for the possibility of flash floods to avoid loss of their properties.
“The situation might get even worse following the king tide and the residents must be prepared from now,” he told reporters after attending a dialogue between Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and representatives of the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) of Kampung Assyakirin at Wisma Bintulu yesterday. However, the relevant authorities especially BDA and DID, he added, are doing their best to find solutions for the flash floods that affect some flood-prone areas such as Kampung Assyakirin and Kampung Kemunting.
He said the engagement session yesterday was very meaningful as they could get more input from the people in the affected areas to find short term and long term solutions. Dino believes that with all the input, effective measures could be taken to ease the impact of flash floods and to finally prevent the floods from happening again.
“We want the people to understand the real situation here, what have been and will be implemented. The people must understand flood mitigation measures cannot be implemented in just one day.
“From now on, please be more alert of the condition, especially warning from the Malaysian Meteorological Department,” said Dino.
The dialogue was chaired by BDA general manager Rodziah Morshidi. Among those present were BDA deputy chairman Haidar Khan Asghar Khan, DID Bintulu divisional engineer Henry Tuah, Jurutera Jasa (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd officers and BDA senior officers.

My comments:

Are these people capable of getting the things done properly?  I doubt.  Flush out the ministers who are not able to deliver, that's it!

theborneopost.com

Miri-Marudi road hit by landslides | Borneo Post Online 

Posted on December 10, 2019, Tuesday at 12:01 AM

A landslide at one of the stretches of the road.

    MARUDI: Motorists plying the Miri-Marudi road are advised to be extra careful because several stretches have been hit by soil erosion following heavy rainfall.
    Four landslides have occurred along the road, including in two sections where portions of the road had collapsed and the rest were minor soil movement.
    Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil anticipates higher traffic volume during weekends and the coming Christmas and New Year holidays and urged road users to exercise extra care.
    Penguang said he is addressing the situation for the safety of road users and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
    “I have also discussed with JKR (Public Works Department) on the possibility of looking for an alternative route and building a higher grade road as it is almost impossible to upgrade the existing road following the existing alignment because of the difficult and hilly terrain,” the Marudi assemblyman said.

A section of the Miri-Marudi road hit by landslide.

    Meanwhile, he had requested JKR to put up more road signage and safety measures.
On Dec 3, Penguang had instructed JKR to take remedial measures following his visit to the site with the road maintenance team.
    The assistant minister in the middle of this year had also requested the department to repair the damaged road shoulders, for which approval is pending.
    Heavy rains in June this year caused cracks along numerous sections of the 43.2km Miri-Marudi road which was paved before the Chinese New Year in Feb this year.
    The state government in the run-up to the last state election in 2016 approved the RM77.4-million enhancement project, which involved slope trimming, elevating flood prone sections, laying a stone-gravel base (known as stoning) and tar-sealing of the road surface.
    The road was initially built under the Jiwa Murni project undertaken by the military engineering corps.
    Upon completion, the narrow and windy road was welcomed by users but its condition deteriorated over time, and former chief minister the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem approved the rehabilitation project before the last state election.

Mycomments:

When the land is waterlogged, landslides are the due consequences.  It is as simple as that based on our common sense.  Just remember that heavy downpour means fast rising level of water at Bakun Dam and Murum Dam.  The dams have to discharge the excess and imagine the deluge of water.  Water goes everywhere when there is no proper channel for it to flow.  Water permeating the soil to make it waterlogged and slide.

Floods

pressreader.com

6 Dec 2019+2 morePhilip Kiew

• • The Borneo Post
  • 7 Dec 2019
• • The Borneo Post
  • 8 Dec 2019

LAWAS: There may be no respite in sight for flood-hit north­ern Sarawak, with the weather­man pre­dict­ing more rain over the next few days.

         Malaysian Me­te­o­ro­log­i­cal Depart­ment (MetMalaysia) Sarawak di­rec­tor Am­bon Din­dang said the cur­rent weather pa ern is con­sis­tent with the year-end mon­soon sea­son, and is likely to re­main un­changed up to the week­end.
      “It’s nor­mal – it rains then stops and then rains again,” he told The Bor­neo Post when con­tacted yes­ter­day.
         Am­bon was asked whether the pub­lic could ex­pect any let up in the per­sis­tent heavy rain in Miri and Lim­bang di­vi­sions this past week, which had swelled rivers and trig­gered flood­ing here as well as in Lim­bang and Baram.        

         An over­flow­ing Lawas river spilled onto the runway and park­ing apron at the air­port here, lead­ing to its shut­down yes­ter­day and can­cel­la­tion of all flights, while six schools in the district were also closed due to the river burst­ing its banks.

        The State Dis­as­ter Man­age­ment Commi ee sec­re­tar­iat in its re­port at 7am said the Civil Avi­a­tion Au­thor­ity of Malaysia is­sued a No­tice to Air­men ( No­tam) alert for the air­port for close, in view that its runway had been in­un­dated by about two feet of wa­ter.
        Pas­sen­gers who had hoped to fly to Lim­bang, Kota Kin­a­balu or Miri yes­ter­day re­port­edly had to take to the road as a re­sult of the flight can­cel­la­tions.
        The clo­sure pe­riod for the air­port will de­pend on how quickly the flood re­cedes as well as the amount of re­sult­ing mud and de­bris le on the runway, ac­cord­ing to the sec­re­tar­iat.

        Another re­port is­sued at 9am stated that the Ed­u­ca­tion Depart­ment had re­ported that the six af­fected schools were hit by be­tween one and three feet of wa­ter.
         Mean­while, Lawas District Of­fi­cer Ladin Atok, who also chairs the district dis­as­ter man­age­ment commi ee, said flood­wa­ters in the Tru­san town area had re­ceded while the wa­ter level out­side the town and in Sun­dar had risen slightly.

      “All the rel­e­vant agen­cies are on alert as our op­er­a­tions room has been al­ready ac­ti­vated to deal with the mon­soon flood­ing in­ci­dents,” he told The Bor­neo Post.
The Tru­san evac­u­a­tion cen­tre at the com­mu­nity hall here, which ini­tially had three evac­uees, saw the num­ber climb to 42 as of 4pm yes­ter­day as vil­lagers of Kam­pung Se­berang Kedai, Kam­pung Ge­la­pas, Kam­pung Peruma­han Ge­lapis, Kam­pung Masjid Tru­san, Kam­pung Lua­gan Kelilang, and Kam­pung Ten­gah Tru­san were forced to flee their homes.

The Borneo Post

6 Dec 2019

theborneopost.com  Posted on December 5, 2019, Thursday at 12:15 AM

Govt to upgrade logging roads in Ulu Baram | Borneo Post Online

Dennis seen in a pickup truck as it manoeuvres along a muddy logging road, as he makes his way to visit his constituents.

         MIRI: Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau says the Sarawak government is working hard to upgrade earth roads built by logging companies which connect hundreds of settlements and villages in Ulu Baram.
He said some RM1.5 billion has been allocated for the purpose, of which almost 90 per cent of the amount is for his constituency as well as Mulu – both under Baram parliamentary constituency.
      “As a frequent user of these logging roads, I’m very aware of the pain my people have to endure when travelling.
      “Thus I thank the state government and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for allocating a big sum to improve the infrastructure and amenities in Telang Usan and Mulu,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday, when updating on the latest effort to upgrade roads in Ulu Baram.
He disclosed that the project to upgrade the stretch of earth road from Long Lama town to Temala junction has been tendered out and is expected to commence next month.
        In view of the current monsoon season, Dennis advised those travelling along logging roads to exercise greater care and caution.
     “Though it has been part of our life and we are used to travelling along logging earth roads, the danger is still there especially during the monsoon season like now.
    “For myself, I have to use these logging roads to visit longhouses and villagers scattered all over my constituency.”

My comments:

Be prepared to flush out the 57 year old government for good.

theborneopost.com   4 December, 2019

Miri Division tops flooded schools list | Borneo Post Online

The flooded road to Rh Panjang Kejemut, Skrang and Rh Panjang Tembong, both in Engkilili, is not passable by any vehicle.

MIRI: Miri Division topped the list of flood-hit schools yesterday, with three of the six affected primary schools in the state in Marudi District.
         The State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) said that Sarawak Education Department (JPNS) had reported to them that the six schools affected were SK Tabut Lubok Antu (Sri Aman); SK Merambut (Limbang); SK Lunying, Sebuyau (Samarahan); SK Sg Kelabit, SK Pengarah Entri and SK Sungai Bong in Miri.
According to the State Disaster Management Committee, as of 3pm yesterday, only SK Merambut in neighbouring Limbang Division was reported to be flooded.
         Due to the torrential rain yesterday, the water level at these areas rose to between 0.5m and 1m.
No evacuation was required as all the schools were closed due to year-end holiday.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Civil Defence Betong branch yesterday said their team which was monitoring the situations in Engkilili area reported that three roads leading to Rh Panjang Kejemut, Skrang and  Rh Panjang Tembong, both in Engkilili were flooded and not passable by any vehicle.

The flood at SK Sungai Bong in Ulu Teruin, Miri Division.

The Malaysia Meteorological Department has alerted that heavy rainfall will be expected from yesterday until December 5 affecting Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei and Mukah.
Separately, Miri City was hit by flash floods in several areas following five hours of downpour the previous night as monsoon rain pelted northern Sarawak and swelled rivers.
The authorities are monitoring the situation and expect more episodes of flooding to occur this monsoon season which started last month.
Over in Marudi, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, who is Marudi assemblyman, when contacted, said all the low-lying areas along Batang Tinjar were flooded as expected.
He was in Marudi the day before and as he expected the river burst its banks as the rainy weather continued.
On the state of readiness to face floods in his constituency, Penguang said all the community emergency response teams (CERTs) were ready and well-versed with the standard operating procedure in facing monsoon flood.
“All the relevant agencies under the watchful eyes of Beluru district officer and Baram district officer are on alert,” he assured.

theborneopost.com     3 December, 2019

Overnight downpour triggers flash floods in parts of state | Borneo Post Online

An APM member speaks to a resident in Nanga Tamin following the flash flooding.

KUCHING: A few areas in the state were affected by flash floods following overnight downpour yesterday.
         The State Disaster Management Committee in a statement said Kampung Mentu Tapu in Serian, Kampung Siang-Siang in Lawas and Nanga Tamin were among those hit, although no evacuation of residents was necessary.
The statement said four homes in Kampung Mentu Tapu were affected when water levels rose to about four feet around 2.30am, before subsiding around 10am.

A pickup truck seen manoeuvring through the flood-hit road to Nanga Tamin yesterday.

        At Kampung Siang-Siang, the water rose between one and two feet around 2am, affecting two houses near the village’s main road. The press statement added that Civil Defence Force (APM) personnel in Lawas and Serian were dispatched to the respective locations to assist affected residents.
        It also reported that the road to Nanga Tamin rose to about a foot around 3pm but was still passable to heavy vehicles, while the area at Batang Oya bridge was experiencing high tide yesterday, making it a high-risk area for flooding.
      “However, residents from Tebalong and Nanga Tamin could still use alternative ways to go to Stapang town using their own boats, and so far, the schools, longhouses and residents along Batang Oya river are not affected by flood,” said the statement.

My comments:

What have the BN-GPS government done to mitigate the problems of flood recurring again and again?