Sira Habibu and Yvonne Lim The Star 5 Dec 11;
PETALING JAYA: The changing weather pattern is disrupting the daily routine of Malaysians as heavy rains lashed most of Klang Valley and other parts of the country yet again.
Malaysians have been advised to brace for the worst, as flash floods could occur even in areas not usually known to be flood-prone, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas.
Attributing the unpredictable weather to global climate change, he said the public should be prepared for any eventualities, citing how Kajang, Selangor, was unexpectedly hit by floods on Friday.
Yesterday evening, almost 100 trees were uprooted in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as strong winds ravaged the city.
The rains were so heavy that many motorists had to stop their cars, afraid to drive further due to poor visibility.
Douglas said he had also called on relevant agencies to be on stand-by to implement mitigation measures quickly.
“They must also ensure that the flood warning system in all states are in proper working condition,” he said.
As at yesterday, 870 flood victims were evacuated to seven relief centres in five states, as the National Security Council issued flood alerts in Ledang (Johor), Manjung and Kerian (Perak), Alor Gajah (Malacca), Sepang (Selangor) and Sri Aman (Sarawak).
Douglas said the severe floods in Thailand that lasted for weeks was also a result of global climate change.
“We will look into concerted efforts to address this change,'' said Douglas, who is in Durban, South Africa, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Meteorological Department director-general Dr Yap Kok Seng said the current La Nina phenomenon provided “favourable conditions” for thunderstorms.
The department has issued a warning on strong winds and rough seas.
“Thunderstorms over waters off Selangor, east Johor (Kota Tinggi), Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kuching, Labuan, Sabah (interior, west Coast and Sandakan), Straits of Malacca and Layang-layang are expected to continue.”
Freak storm and strong winds wreak havoc across the Klang Valley
Steven Daniel The Star 5 Dec 11;
KUALA LUMPUR: A freak thunderstorm and strong winds referred to as a “mini-hurricane” by many, tore through the capital and parts of Selangor, wreaking havoc, uprooting trees and damaging properties.
The hardest hit areas in the 5pm storm were Kepong, Bandar Menjalara and Hartamas.
Road users on the MRR2 highway near Kepong turned to Twitter to report that the rain was so ferocious that many motorists stopped their vehicles by the roadside to wait it out.
A spokesman from the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) said while there was very heavy rain, it was the ferocity of the wind which caused more damage as trees were uprooted, branches snapped, billboards and signboards fell, and roof tiles and tents for functions were blown off.
“There were also reports of cars crushed by fallen trees and branches but fortunately, there was no loss of life or injury. We had earlier been warned by the Meteorological Department of the possibility of storms in the Klang Valley and had been prepared for this,” he said.
Officials from the FRD and City Hall rushed to clear the debris and remove trees blocking the roads to get the traffic moving.
Massive traffic jams up to 9pm were reported all over the capital and highway entry points into the city as motorists were forced to slow down due to fallen trees, debris and minor accidents.
It was learnt that vehicles were stuck near KM23.9 of the LDP in Puchong because of flash floods and several motorists had to be rescued by FRD officials. Areas in Kepong, Hartamas and Subang Jaya were also flooded for a while.
City Hall officials said they received reports that more than 50 trees fell mainly in Kepong and the city centre. They noted that there were several cases involving buildings with zinc rooftops being blown away.
Batu MP Tian Chua said in his Twitter message: “Horrific storm: Batu residents suffer some losses several houses in Kampung Chubadak lost atap; a few fallen trees in Jln Kolam Air”.
