Agencies form technical committee to address flooding at Eco Park
MIRI: All relevant departments have come together to address the problem of flash floods at Eco Park, a residential area near Miri Airport.
Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin said a technical committee comprising the Drainage and Irrigation Department ( DID), Miri City Council ( MCC) as well as developers headed by state DID director Chok Moi Soon was studying the matter.
“To be honest, there hasn’t been any flash flood for two years since the problem was resolved in 2015. Back then, flash flood was even more serious.
“Part of factor to the flash flood could probably be because of the heavy rainfall. Two years ago, the rainfall at the area was recorded at 120mm. However, this time, it was notably higher at 161mm.”
Apart from Eco Park, Lee also voiced his concern over the flood occurring at Taman Tunku and Tukau where students of SJK ( C) Tukau were stranded at their school after school hours due to the rising water level.
He said the technical committee would be responsible to investigate and analyse the factors including drainage system, on- going development projects at these areas, and to come up with a master plan to resolve or prevent flash flood there.
For the short-term measure, he suggested expanding the retention ponds in the areas and clearing the drains to allow rainwater to flow out faster.
“For long term, planning ahead by taking holistic steps in analysing the factors contributing to the problem is very important because only then, we could reduce or avoid the occurrence of flash flood,” he told a press conference at Miri City Council conference room on Tuesday.
The press conference was also attended by Chok, Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting, mayor Adam Yii as well as engineering consultants and developers.
Chok, when approached by reporters, said the technical team would carry out their task as soon as possible.
“The (retention) ponds are vital to ensure that the rainwater is contained. After that, we will study the whole area, with the on- going development happening there. If possible, we will be adopting the sustainable urban development concept as a long term measure to prevent the floods.”
Later, Lee and the technical team made a brief visit to Eco Park to check on the water level there.
It was noted that the water level had receded since Monday. However, it was considered still high as residents were unable to drive their vehicles up to their houses.