JOHOR BARU: The flash floods that displaced 300 people yesterday were not caused by logging or deforestation activities in the Kota Tinggi waterfalls and forest reserve area.
State Health and Environment Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said no such activities were taking place in the area, since the state government suspended logging licenses in Johor in 2017.
He dismissed the viral satellite images suggesting deforestation in the forest reserve as the cause of the floods, stating that they are misleading and inaccurate.
"The open areas shown in the viral satellite images are located outside the Kota Tinggi Waterfall Forest Reserve.
"It (the images) was of mining lands under the district land office's administration," he said, adding that the allegations were baseless and untrue.
Yesterday, continuous heavy rainfall between 8am and 4pm resulted in flash floods in villages in Batu Empat.
Some 300 residents were evacuated to temporary evacuation centres, after water levels rose to knee height in Batu Empat.
Allegations that the floods were due to deforestation activities near the waterfall then began appearing in community portals.
Ling, however, urged residents to report suspicious activities in the Kota Tinggi Waterfall Forest Reserve.
"The Kota Tinggi waterfall has been temporarily closed since 2019 due to flooding for public safety reasons. (Having said that), the viral satellite images claiming deforestation at the area are false," he said.
He added that the state government was evaluating proposals from potential operators for the reopening of the Kota Tinggi waterfall to the public.