Malacca acts to stop floods

The Star Online (Malaysia): The recent unusual wet spell and repeated flash floods in the city over the past two weeks has prompted authorities here to implement immediate flood mitigation measures. State local government and environment committee chairman Datuk Latiff Tamby Chick said 10 temporary pumps would be installed along the Malacca River to help divert excess water during heavy rain.

“This is only a temporary measure as the pump system from Sweden will only be fully operational in September,” he said yesterday. He also said that contractors responsible for maintaining monsoon drains would be required to carry out maintenance work once a month instead of once every three months.

Besides the unusual heavy showers, he said, high tides were also causing greater back flow along the Malacca River. He cited the recent heavier that usual rainfall over Singapore as an example where climate change might be causing more frequent flash flood.

“Even in Singapore, unusual heavy rain had resulted in floods at Orchard Road,” he said. Last week, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said some RM56.4mil had been spent for the first phase of the RM128mil flood mitigation programme launched by the state two years ago.

An additional RM72mil from the Federal Government would be used for the second phase of the project to further upgrade the drainage systems and secondary waterways along the Malacca River…

The Malacca River, a bit upstream from the historic Dutch Square. Looking north (upstream), shot by Vmenkov, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License