Flash Flood In KL – KL City Hall And The Irrigation Department To Construct An Underground Water Storage Tunnel To Combat Flash Floods

In an effort to address flash flood problem in Kuala Lumpur, City Hall (DBKL) will collaborate with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to construct a high-capacity groundwater storage tunnel.

Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim, Federal Territories Minister, stated that this is one of the long-term solutions that will take three to five years to complete.

As a result, he stated that DBKL will conduct a feasibility study on the location and specifications of the groundwater storage tunnel, which will be completed in three months.

Acccording to Shahidan, when the river's water level is low, it’s the tunnel will hold flood water before releasing it into the river. Most major cities around the world have built it (the tunnel), including Tokyo and Itabashi in Japan.

“However, what we have found is that our roads are narrow. So, some have suggested that we build it 120 feet below the river,” he said at a media conference on “Towards A Flash Flood-Free Kuala Lumpur” here on Thursday.

He also said that DBKL would also build flood walls immediately in all areas where rivers are likely to overflow.

“We will also carry out works to desilt the reservoirs and rivers to maximise their usage capacity.

“For now, we have put sandbags in areas affected by river overflows, besides placing mobile water pumps as a temporary measure to overcome this problem,” he added.

He also urged the public to help as much as possible by not littering in public areas, particularly the drainage system.