Federal Highway flash floods brought on by development activity - Tengku Adnan

The flash floods on the Federal Highway near Angkasapuri last Monday were triggered by an obstruction to the drainage system brought on by development activity nearby, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the heavy rain then lasted 80 minutes and registered a rainfall of 86 mm compared to the usual 50 mm to 60 mm.

Replying to a question during the Ministers' Question Time, he said the flooded stretch was under the purview of the Malaysian Highway Authority and the concessionaire was SPRINT (Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd).

"The development near where the floods occurred is the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway project and the South City development project," he said when replying to the question from Hee Loy Sian (PKR-Petaling Jaya Selatan).

Tengku Adnan said Kuala Lumpur City Hall had instructed the relevant parties to maintain the drainage system, including upgrading the drains in the area of the construction.

It had also been asked to maintain the existing retention ponds to maintain the water level capacity and increase the number of silt traps and clean the existing drainage system in the vicinity of the construction area, he said.

-- BERNAMA