Flash floods: Flood control infrastructure mobilised - Environment Ministry

Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said pump houses, water locks, sirens, retention ponds and flood diversion systems are all operating well in accordance with standard operating procedures.

"The SMART Tunnel flood diversion operation was activated at Mod 2B at 3.40 pm, Mod 2 (3.58 pm) followed by Mod 3 at 4.44 pm," he said at a media conference here tonight.

He said continuous heavy rain since 2.30 pm caused flash floods at major roads in the city centre, as well as Jalan Batu Bata, Kampung Periuk, Kampung Pasir Baru and Telekom College.

"Extraordinary heavy rain within a two hour period overwhelmed the existing drainage system with a high volume of water flow," he added.

To reduce the risk of flash floods, Tuan Ibrahim said the Kuala Lumpur DID was implementing improvement and upgrading work at retention ponds in the city, including the Batu retention pond.

"Also, two flood mitigation projects, the Sungai Bunus mitigation project and the Sungai Batu diversion project, are expected to be completed by February 2024," he added.

Meanwhile, Environment and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said at the same media conference that the extraordinary rainfall recorded today, which was almost equivalent to a month's average, was the main cause behind today's flash floods.

Normally, the average annual rain for the country was 2,500 milimetres (mm) and the monthly national average was 208 mm, he said, adding that the rainfall recorded today at Taman Desa SMART station was 106.5 mm and 155 mm at Air Panas station.

"In just two hours, the rainfall has exceeded half of the monthly average. When such a great amount of water falls in a short time, there won't be enough time for it to drain away," he said