KUANTAN: TENAGA Nasional Bhd yesterday said it was forced to open the spillway gates of the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in stages on Wednesday as the water behind its walls rose to nearly critical levels.
However, the blame for the floods, which hit the Ringlet area and have so far seen three people killed and four injured, with two more people missing and feared dead, was placed on excessive land clearing activities and “unplanned development” in Cameron Highlands.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and Tanah Rata assemblyman Leong Ngah Ngah both hit out at irresponsible parties who had been clearing land indiscriminately, causing the mud floods and landslides, just over a year after the deadly Bertam Valley mudflow killed four people on Oct 23 last year.
“Excessive land-clearing activities and unplanned development on the highlands have resulted in bare (and unstable) soil, causing mud floods during downpours.
“Irresponsible acts by certain quarters on the environment have caused the disaster, and it serves as a lesson to everyone. When we travel there, we can see that massive amounts of land have been cleared. Whether it was done with permission or illegally is another issue, but the main concern is our attitude towards conserving and managing the environment.
“I am not trying to shift the blame but that is the reality that we have to face,” said Adnan.
Leong attributed the disaster to over-development and land clearing, besides the heavy rainfall.
“A lot of development and land clearing have been going on for the past year, causing this disaster. While rainfall is unavoidable, development can be controlled.”
He praised the authorities for carefully handling the release of water from the Sungai Abu Bakar Dam.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister and Cameron Highlands member of parliament Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, meanwhile, called for affected residents to be relocated to safer ground.
“I have spoken to the district officer to look for a suitable piece of land,” he said during a brief visit to Dewan Ringlet, where some of the families were seeking shelter.
In a statement yesterday, TNB said its Emergency Response Plan had to be activated when water levels at the dam rose 2.1m an hour to 1,070m. The warning siren was sounded at 8.15pm to give people time to evacuate and the spillway gates were opened in stages, beginning at 8.40pm.
TNB said if the spillway gates had not been opened, the flooding would have been worse as all four gates would have opened automatically if the water had risen to critical level.
Meanwhile, the search for possible victims of the floods, including an Indonesian man and his female compatriot who were reported missing after their kongsi in Bertam Valley was hit by a landslide, was called off last night because of soil movement. The search will continue today.
The dead were identified as farm workers Md Yousuf Miya, 66, of Nepal, Anipan, 48, of Indonesia and SMK Kampung Raja student R. Tunesh, 13.
Yousuf’s body was found buried near his kongsi in Ulu Merah, Ringlet, at 8.30pm on Wednesday, while Anipan’s body was found under 1m of earth in Bertam Valley at 9.20am yesterday.
Tunesh’s body was found some 5km from where he was reported missing. Additional reporting by Kalavaani Karupiah
Cops: Mudslide not caused by release of dam water
The Star 7 Nov 14;
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The release of water from the Sultan Abu Bakar dam did not cause Wednesday night’s mudslide in Ringlet, said OCPD Deputy Supt Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu.
He said the affected areas were flooded before water from the hydroelectric dam was released.
“The rain was unusually heavy and was worse than during last year’s incident.”
The incident in October last year claimed four lives and created much havoc, with about 80 homes flooded and 100 vehicles damaged. The severity was linked to the manual release of water from one gate, which had to be done before the gates opened automatically.
Cameron Highlands Power Stations general manager Mohammad Zaki Jalaluddin said Tenaga Nasional Bhd had to release water in stages as the dam level was already critical a short time after the downpour started.
He said the siren in Bertam Valley went off at 8.15pm to signal the evacuation and the siren at the dam was sounded at 8.40pm.
“The release (of water) was done after receiving feedback from the Ringlet police station that the evacuation has been completed,” he said.
TNB said water would continue to be released over the next few days depending on the weather and until a safe level was reached.
Reach: Floods and mudslide caused by several factors
Diagram from The Star, 7 Nov 14;
The Star 7 Nov 14;
PETALING JAYA: Greenhouse farming, encroachment on river reserves and land clearing are among the activities that caused the floods and mudslide at several areas in Cameron Highlands, an enviromental group said.
Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach) president R. Ramakrishnan said the filters used by greenhouse farmers on their crops caused an unnatural flow of water into the river bed.
“They use plastic to cover and protect the crops and the water flowing from it goes into the riverbed.
“When the river cannot accommodate the extra water, there will be flash floods,” Ramakrishnan told The Star.
The Star had previously highlighted in a series of articles the massive land clearing and development in Cameron Highlands.
Ramakrishnan also said there was no longer land available for agricultural purposes as the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry had ruled that such land was only suitable in areas with gradients below 20 degrees.
He estimated that the current erosion rate in the area was about 200 tonnes per hectare per year.
Tanah Rata assemblyman Leong Ngah Ngah cited over development, land clearing and heavy rainfall among the factors for the incident.
He said there have been a lot of development over the past years.
“Unchecked land clearing also cause destruction to water retention areas, causing rivers to swell.
“There are just too many housing and agricultural projects here now,” he added.
Leong said the heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening was something beyond human control, but development of the highlands could be controlled.
He said there should be proper management of the land to achieve a balance between the environment and development.
“The authorities have been very careful when releasing the water from the dam,” he said.