RM167m plan to tackle Kota Belud flooding
Published on: Sunday, December 17, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Efforts are under way to address the flood issue in Kota Belud, including works to deepen rivers in the district, which have been attributed to the June 2015 earthquake of 6.0 and subsequent tremors. Scheduled to begin this month, the river deepening is part of three projects which the State and Federal Governments are focused and committed on implementing as short and long-term solutions to the problem. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of the EPU, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said the first project involves RM27 million allocation for short-term projects of which RM20 million has been approved.
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"Only RM7 million more to go, but this is not a problem," he said during a special meeting with local authorities on the matter. "We have also discussed in detail with Sabah Irrigation and Drainage Department regarding the mechanisms in dealing with floods in Kota Belud. "Previously I announced that the Government had provided an allocation of RM80 million to carry out repair work and deepen the two rivers in the district to over flood problems. "Today we see another initiative with the department on river issues in the district and how it can be improved over the short-term and long-term," he said.
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The second project is worth RM140 million for long-term solution, of which RM50 million has been approved this year, while RM90 million will be approved next year. He said the State Government has also appointed companies to deepen rivers in the district.
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"I hope Kota Belud residents faced with this disaster understand that it is a phenomenon caused by the tremors at Mount Kinabalu that have permanently changed the design of the earth in the district. "Thus there is a need for us to change the way we address this problem," said Abdul Rahman, who is also Kota Belud MP. "We will also improve on matters related to food supply, flood rescue system and evacuation centre. "Even today, the District Officer as the District Disaster Committee Chairman has addressed matters related to food supply," he added. He said the Government is focused to ensure there is no problem in the future saying "I hope residents in Kota Belud will understand what steps the government will make.""I also ask them not to criticise the departments which have gone all out to assist. We are faced with a phenomenon which we are not familiar with, but with the addition of some assets, I think our rescue system and how evacuation centres are handled will improve," he said. The meeting was attended by Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak who is Usukan Assemblyman, Tempasuk Assemblyman Datuk Musbah Jamli and Kota Belud District Officer Abdul Gari Itam, among others. Meanwhile, Abdul Gari said the floods got worse in the district after the June 2015 earthquake, adding that this year alone the district faced more than 70 flash floods which required evacuation to be done at least six times. "The recent flood was the worst, it came suddenly, the current was so strong and the waters were so deep, making rescue missions difficult. "In our previous experience, floods usually happens in January, now major floods started since October, thus measures must be taken as early preparation for any possibilities of floods next month," he added. Also present were those from relevant agencies such as the Kota Belud District Office, police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, army, State Government departments, Public Works Department and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd. Meanwhile, Salleh who is Usukan Assemblyman said the main thing now is to tackle the problem through cooperation and without seeking credit."Sometimes in social media, there are groups that politicise various issues and point fingers as if the government did nothing to solve the flood issue in Kota Belud," he said.Abdul Gari, who is also District Disaster Management Chairman, revealed that the floods had been common since the earthquake tragedy.According to him, the earthquake events have resulted in damage to the river channel's appearance, especially morphological conditions and affecting hydraulic infrastructure and other public amenities.He said the frequency of floods also increased to four to 67 times a year including flash floods (up to October 2017) compared to one to four times a year before 2015.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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