When will this landslide nightmare end?
It has happened again like yet another episode of a recurring nightmare. Four lives have been snatched away in the latest landslide tragedy which struck in the early hours of Saturday at Bukit Antarabangsa.
The landslide occurred not too far away from the worst landslide tragedy in the country, which led to the collapse of the Highland Towers in Ulu Klang on Dec 11, 1993. In the tragic incident, 48 people were killed.
In spite of assurances that there would not be a repeat of such a disaster, the area has remained landslide prone and hazardous.
Studies conducted two years ago showed that more than a hundred scars of previous landslips around Ulu Klang were left unattended, making them potential triggers of future slope failures.
Several factors contribute to the occurrence of landslides, the main ones being the types of underlying bedrock and soil, gradient and geometry of the slope, and ground-water flow.
Man-made causes from developers include improper soil evaluation, engineering flaws, design faults and poor drainage systems, especially for buildings constructed on Class 3 and Class 4 hill slopes – those with gradients of 26° and above.
Reports have also cast doubts on the accuracy of existing slope assessment, information management and risk-tracking systems developed by various government agencies, including the Department of Mineral and Geosciences, the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency and the Public Works Department (PWD).
And the PWD’s much hyped National Slope Master Plan on institutional frameworks, hazard mapping, monitoring and early warning systems remains to be implemented after so many such calamities.
But, like always, there is a familiar pattern of reactions each time an environmental crisis strikes – finger-pointing and blame-shifting followed by pledges of better alerts and preventive measures.
The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that the Government will not issue any more permits for hillside developments.
Let this be a binding rule.
Developers must be made to lay off these lands no matter how expensive and economically profitable they are and state governments must strictly abide by the decision.
The landslide occurred not too far away from the worst landslide tragedy in the country, which led to the collapse of the Highland Towers in Ulu Klang on Dec 11, 1993. In the tragic incident, 48 people were killed.
In spite of assurances that there would not be a repeat of such a disaster, the area has remained landslide prone and hazardous.
Studies conducted two years ago showed that more than a hundred scars of previous landslips around Ulu Klang were left unattended, making them potential triggers of future slope failures.
Several factors contribute to the occurrence of landslides, the main ones being the types of underlying bedrock and soil, gradient and geometry of the slope, and ground-water flow.
Man-made causes from developers include improper soil evaluation, engineering flaws, design faults and poor drainage systems, especially for buildings constructed on Class 3 and Class 4 hill slopes – those with gradients of 26° and above.
Reports have also cast doubts on the accuracy of existing slope assessment, information management and risk-tracking systems developed by various government agencies, including the Department of Mineral and Geosciences, the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency and the Public Works Department (PWD).
And the PWD’s much hyped National Slope Master Plan on institutional frameworks, hazard mapping, monitoring and early warning systems remains to be implemented after so many such calamities.
But, like always, there is a familiar pattern of reactions each time an environmental crisis strikes – finger-pointing and blame-shifting followed by pledges of better alerts and preventive measures.
The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that the Government will not issue any more permits for hillside developments.
Let this be a binding rule.
Developers must be made to lay off these lands no matter how expensive and economically profitable they are and state governments must strictly abide by the decision.
MOHD ADHA MOHD ZAIN (ADHA ZAIN)
Blogger Informasi
