Residents want fast action to solve flood woes

05/04/2008 The Star By Yip Yoke Teng

RESIDENTS of De Tropicana Condominium in Kuchai Entrepreneur Park want the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and the developer of a nearby housing project to bring an end to the flooding problems there.

The carpark of the condominium was again inundated by floodwaters on Wednesday, causing damage to 10 cars.

It was the second time the occupants were affected by flash floods.

The first time occurred on Christmas Eve last year where 45 cars were damaged in floodwaters.

Seputeh Barisan Nasional information chief Banie Chin claimed that the poor drainage at the nearby construction sites of the KL-Putrajaya Highway and a housing project caused the floods.

“The drainage at these sites is not effective in diverting the rain water into the monsoon drain, so the bottleneck causes water to flow back into the condominium compound during downpours,” said Chin.

According to Chin, the rain started about 4pm in the area and the floodwater rose to 0.6m (2ft) by 5pm.

It took about two hours for the water to subside, leaving behind a chaotic scene.

“Fortunately, the condominium committee acted fast this time.

“They triggered the alarm early enough for occupants to remove their cars in time,” Chin said, adding that the committee also opened the manholes to drain the water.

The occupants were unhappy that the authorities did not rectify the problem efficiently when flash floods hit last year.

“The developer only diverted the drainage outlet so that floodwaters would not flow directly into the condominium.

“However, this incident shows that it was not a permanent solution to the problem,” he said.

Chin met City Hall and MHA the next day but was not satisfied with the outcome.

“The officials gave me standard answers, that they need to discuss with their superiors, get approvals and study the budget but we are talking about natural disasters now, how can they drag the issue?” he said.

“It is affecting the livelihood of residents and we want the authorities to act immediately,” he added.