KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has allocated RM10 million to implement a short-term plan to solve the problem of flash floods in the city.
City Hall executive director (project management) Datuk Azmi Abdul Hamid said RM5 million would be used for the purchase of equipment including an additional 20 portable water pumps and sandbags for mitigation measures.
The remaining allocation, he said, would be used to upgrade the drains (outlet) at hotspots where floods often occurred.
"At present, City Hall only has four pumps and requires more. For the first phase, we will purchase 20 units of the portable pumps at RM20,000 per unit.
"The process is expected to be completed after Hari Raya and the pumps will be located at City Hall's offices near the hotspots.
"If it rains heavily in any of these 25 identified hotspot areas, the portable pumps will be used to pump out the water and divert it to a higher nearby area, so there will be no overflow.
"This immediate measure is to reduce damage to properties or vehicles that may be trapped in flash floods," he told Berita Harian today.
Azmi said another short-term measure currently being implemented is the upgrading of drains at the hotspots.
"Our engineers have conducted a study on the need to modify the outlet openings and the size of the channel so it is sufficient to accommodate the water flow.
"Currently, upgrading works of the outlets are being carried out at one of the hotspots, which is at the Bukit Jalil intersection.
"The cost is estimated at RM200,000 for a distance of 500 metres," he said, adding that the cost depends on the distance and the condition of the channel infrastructure at the location.
Azmi said City Hall has also placed an officer each at the hotspots identified.
"These officers are responsible to monitor the area and in the event of heavy rain, they need to provide preliminary information, for City Hall to dispatch additional officers to the area.
"For example, in one of the hotspots which is at Jalan Segambut or the Segambut bypass, we will monitor the water level of the river near the houses.
"If there is rise in the water level, the team needs to make sure the outlet (channel) for the water to enter is free from rubbish and others.
"The team will also conduct periodic inspections in the hotspot areas to clean the channels with other agencies, including Alam Flora," he said.
As a long-term measure, Azmi said City Hall has appointed the Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram), to implement a study and mitigation concept for flash floods in Kuala Lumpur.
"The study will take 12 months involving five phases. For a start, the study will focus on the entire drainage in the hotspot areas, especially the drainage from the residential area into the main drainage and then into the river.
"This study will measure to which extent it can accommodate the current rainfall capacity, the size of the outlet and its range. The previous studies used information on the different intensities of rainfall distribution but the trend now is also different.
"Ikram will inform the progress of the study from time to time before a complete report with recommendations is given to City Hall," he said.
He added another long-term plan is to build an 'On-Site Detention' (OSD) to accommodate excess water.