Johor prepares for year-end flooding

DID steps up mitigation systems ahead of monsoon, including dredging rivers
The Star 9 Nov 08;

JOHOR BARU: The Drainage and Irrigation Department has gone into high gear in its preparation for possible floods during the end-of-the-year monsoon season and early next year.

Natural Resources and Environ-ment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the department had been ordered to set up flood command centres and monitor all flood detection systems in the country.

“The department has also been told to make sure all flood mitigation systems were running smoothly in a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a few days ago,” he said after launching the environment rehabilitation campaign in the Southern Region Marine Department.

Douglas said research had identified 9% of the country as flood prone.

He said river dredging was also being conducted nationwide as part of preparations for the yearly floods.

In Johor, the rivers dredged were Sungai Lenik and Sungai Juasseh in Segamat; Sungai Tampok, Sungai Pinggan and Sungai Air Baloi in Pontian as well as Sungai Masai in Johor Baru.

Douglas said this was part of a total allocation of RM365mil for flood mitigation projects in Johor, which also included research on master plans for five estuaries.

He also announced that 134,000ha of mangrove swamps nationwide had been gazetted as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) sites.

“The mangrove sites gazetted are Tasik Bera in Pahang; Kuching Wetlands National park in Sarawak, Lower Kinabatangan-Segama wetlands in Sabah, as well as Sungai Pulai, Kukup Island and Tanjung Piai in Johor.

“RM26.43mil has been allocated under the Ninth Malaysian Plan to ensure the pristine conditions of these sites,” he said.

DID to deepen all rivers
By Anis Ibrahim, New Straits Times 9 Nov 08;

GELANG PATAH: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to deepen rivers nationwide to prepare for floods that hit Johor and Pahang badly last year. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the prime minister stated this in a meeting with him earlier this week.

"He (Abdullah) wants us to be ready for floods that can occur either at the end of the year or early next year," he said after launching the Johor Environmental Preservation Campaign yesterday.

"The department has been instructed to deepen all rivers."

Abdullah, he said, intended to prevent a repeat of the floods that hit the two states badly in December 2006, with rivers in Johor overflowing their banks and causing death and damage to properties.

"An allocation of RM355 million has been set aside for Johor.

"Work on Sungai Lenik and Sungai Juasseh in Segamat, Sungai Tampok, Sungai Pinggan and Sungai Air Baloi in Pontian, and Sungai Masai in Johor Baru has begun."

On short-term measures, Douglas said work had been completed at Sungai Johor in Kota Tinggi and Sungai Pekan in Pahang.

"The flood-mitigation project, which covers all rivers nationwide, is urgent and will be completed as soon as possible."

Earlier, he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UEM Land and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

The MoU covers a grant of RM230,000 for UKM to draw up an environment masterplan for Nusajaya, Johor's new administrative centre under Iskandar Malaysia.

UEM Land is Nusajaya's main developer.

Nusajaya lies next to the Sungai Pulai Ramsar site, an area measuring 91.2 square kilometres which has been gazetted as wetlands.

Douglas said the government was committed to protecting the six Ramsar sites in the country, three of which are in Johor.

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable usage of wetlands.