Melaka considers flood mitigation project to end 20-year crisis

MELAKA - The Melaka government will consider a proposal for a new flood mitigation project in Tanjung Minyak to address flooding that has plagued the area for more than 20 years.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said he had instructed the relevant state executive councillor to hold discussions with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and other agencies to prepare a proposal for consideration by the State Executive Council.

"I have asked the relevant exco member to submit a proposal and discuss it with the DID so that a new flood mitigation project for Tanjung Minyak can be presented to the state government for consideration,” he told reporters outside the Melaka State Legislative Assembly sitting at the Seri Negeri Complex today.

Ab Rauf said more than 200 families in the area were affected by flooding following exceptionally heavy rainfall last Saturday.

He said the state government understood the hardships faced by residents and remained committed to finding a long-term solution, noting that the area had been prone to floods for more than two decades.

Ab Rauf said the unusually heavy rainfall that hit Melaka also overwhelmed the pumping systems installed by the DID at several locations in Masjid Tanah.

"Under normal rainfall conditions, these pumps can reduce flood risk by up to 70 per cent. However, the exceptionally heavy rain resulted in water volumes that exceeded the system's pumping capacity.

"Nevertheless, the system helped speed up the recession of floodwaters in the affected areas,” he said.

Melaka DID director Mohd Adnan Ahmad Fauzi had earlier said that exceptionally high rainfall in Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah, which exceeded the levels recorded during Tropical Storm Senyar at the end of last year, was among the main causes of the floods that struck the two districts last Saturday.

He said cumulative rainfall of more than 100 millimetres (mm) was recorded in the two districts by 2.30 pm. - BERNAMA