KL City Hall outlines steps to tackle flash floods

By THE STAR | 09 May 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: Upgrading scupper drains, constructing new sump pumps, placing sandbags and desilting debris at flood retention ponds in 25 flood hotspots in the city are all part of interim measures taken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to tackle the flash flood problem in Kuala Lumpur.

The project, costing RM10mil, was unveiled by mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah today at the DBKL headquarters, and is expected to start immediately.

The project, called the Flash Flood Action Plan KL 2022, also lists other measures including ensuring that enough manpower and logistics are available and on standby during thunderstorms in flood-prone areas to ensure that help is available fast for people caught in the flood.

“Based on warnings by the Meteorological Department, we will ensure that traffic wardens will be at the spot to divert traffic.

"Those who have installed the DBKL Mobis app will immediately get an alert via SMS to avoid certain roads and this will be available starting tomorrow," he said.

Mahadi also said that DBKL will ensure that those who do not have the app will also be getting an SMS alert to avoid certain roads during a flood and that they were working to provide that service.

“We have given ourselves until the end of the year to see if some of the measures work, but we will be monitoring the efforts within the next three months," Mahadi said.

The mayor added that they have also appointed a consultant to look into some of the measures that will be updated regularly.

Mahadi said the measures were taken based on community feedback at flood-prone areas as well as based on flood reports investigated at 25 flash flood hotspots in the city that took place on April 25.

Areas identified as prone to flash floods are Jalan Antoi, Kepong, Jalan Pintasan Segambut, Jalan Rahmat, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Bulatan Datuk Onn, Dataram Merdeka, Kampung Kasipillay. Jalan Travers and Jalan Tun Sambanthan Brickfields to name a few.

On April 25, heavy rains left thousands stranded in flash floods around the city causing traffic to come to a standstill.