MBJB adds more water pumps to tackle flash flood, says MB

JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) will tackle flash floods in the city by increasing its water pumps from four to six units at the Sungai Chat Pump House here, says Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

He said among the works that MBJB was currently and would be carrying out include adding two pump units with a capacity of 25 kilowatts per hour (kWh) each in three other locations of ​​Surau Tambatan, Restoran Malay Village and Jalan Kampung Mohd Amin.

He said other efforts include cleaning of litter on the ‘trash screen’ and waste deposits at the bottom of Sungai Chat as well as the construction of a ‘weir’ (a barrage across the river) in the upstream area.

“I have visited several places in (areas of) Johor Baru and Iskandar Puteri that were hit by (flash) floods today (Sunday, Sept 25) and have asked the local authorities to find the best solution in all the focus areas to prepare for the onslaught of the flood season,” he said in Facebook post.

Onn Hafiz said the Department of Irrigation and Drainage would also widen and deepen Sungai Gelang Patah as well as widen Sungai Senapang and build a flood-retaining wall in Kampung Muafakat.

Meanwhile, the district disaster management committee said two temporary evacuation centres in the Johor Bahru district had been closed as of 8pm Sunday.

“However, four centres are still open, two each in Pontian and Batu Pahat, housing 193 victims,” it said. – Bernama