Study to rectify beach erosion
> Penang DID seeks funds for mitigation works
GEORGE TOWN: A study is being carried out by the Penang Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to identify beaches which are facing erosion, and to take measures to rectify the situation.
State DID director Sabri Abdul Mulok said the study will be submitted to the federal government to seek funds for erosion mitigation measures.
Sabri said his department was aware of the situation at the Kuala Muda beach where locals had voiced their worries about the “disappearing” beach there.
“Some of the immediate measures we can take are to build rock bunds or carry out beach nourishment.”
Beach nourishment is the process of dumping or pumping sand from elsewhere onto an eroding shoreline to create a new beach or to widen the existing beach.
“We are waiting for the budget,” he said at a press conference when asked about the issue which was reported by theSun yesterday.
Checks by theSun had shown that the shoreline at Kuala Muda is disappearing, affecting the popular picnic sites.
Fishermen there have attributed the erosion to strong currents during the transition period of the monsoon season in late July, and have urged authorities to intervene to prevent further erosion.
Penang Local Government, Flood Mitigation and Transport Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, meanwhile, said the phenomenon could be seasonal. He cited a popular beach in Batu Ferringhi as an example where the beachline sometimes stretched until the front of a high-end hotel there.
“Sometimes the beach is further out,” he added.