Photo taken on Wednesday shows the flash floods that hit Lorong Stampin 16 and the surrounding neighbourhoods.
KUCHING: Clogged drains have been identified as the main cause that triggered the flash floods at Lorong Stampin 16 here recently, which also adversely affected road users and residents from the surrounding neighbourhoods.
It is found that many drains and culverts are full of garden debris, including branches that were cut off from trees along the road.
According to Ministry of Local Government and Housing, the amount of rubbish seems to increase every year as many people have become very insensitive and ignorant of the fact that rubbish disrupts smooth water flow and with the drains blocked by the garden debris, this would trigger flash floods.
“The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and the local councils face yearly battles to clean up the drains,” the ministry said in a press statement, where it disclosed that the cost of clean-up and maintenance of the drains throughout Sarawak could easily reach millions of ringgit.
“Such amount could have been better spent on other projects, which would benefit the society more.”
In this regard, the ministry called upon the public to play their part by not throwing garden debris such as tree branches into drains; instead, they should dispose of them at the designated areas.
“We urge for full public cooperation, as we aim to make our city a better place for everyone.”
Workers clear a site where tons of tree branches had been dumped.