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November 2013
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EXPECT ANOTHER DISASTER WHEN THE RAIN POURS DOWN CONTINUALLY OVER SEVERAL DAYS!
This reservoir, a man-made lake, is too small and too shallow to contain all the water when several days of heavy rain occur.
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Video:
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NST
05 November 2013| last updated at 04:20PM
‘Man-made lake has now become a time bomb’
CAMERON HIGHLANDS — The Ringlet reservoir’s water holding capacity has greatly decreased due to the high volume of rubbish, sand and silt sedimented on the lake floor.
Consequently, the man-made lake that holds water to power up the Sultan Abu Bakar Hydroelectric Dam has now become a time bomb that can inundate and devastate lives, areas and property as it can no longer sustain a downpour to its original capacity.
TNB Cameron Highlands Power Stations General Manager Mustafa Hashim said the TNB had taken up the issue with relevant agencies and acknowledged that the Sultan Abu Bakar dam could overflow any day now.
“Another huge risk is that the intake screen to the Sultan Yussuf power station tunnel clogs up due to the sheer volume of the rubbish there, such as farming waste, plastics and ropes,” explained Mustafa, who has been working at the Cameron Highlands since 2011.
Read more: ‘Man-made lake has now become a time bomb’ – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/man-made-lake-has-now-become-a-time-bomb-1.392825#ixzz2jlWHcGld
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Photos of the recent disaster
Images for cameron highlands flood
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TRAGEDY AT THE CAMERON HIGHLANDS. It was not a natural disaster but a man-made one!
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NST
28 October 2013
Body of missing woman found among debris in Bertam River
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The search and rescue operation found the body of 24-year-old Indonesian victim who went missing in the Bertam Valley mudslide last Wednesday at noon among the debris in Bertam River today.
Read more: Body of missing woman found among debris in Bertam River – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/body-of-missing-woman-found-among-debris-in-bertam-river-1.386991#ixzz2j028e4g1
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Malaysiakini
Ringlet tragedy a sign of worse things to come
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Star
Bertam Valley residents pick up the pieces after last week’s mud flood
SJK(C) Bertam Valley students Tan Jia Nan, 15, (front) and Leong Kah Lok, 15, helping to clean up their school’s chairs in the aftermath of the mud flood that hit Cameron Highlands last Wednesday.
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Star
October 26, 2013 MYT 5:58:02 PM
Ringlet dam disaster: DID planning concrete embankment along Bertam River
by ivan loh
The Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) will build a concrete embankment along a 3km-stretch of the Bertam River. The walls will be on both sides of the embankment along the 3km stretch of the river
Ringlet dam disaster: DID planning concrete embankment along Bertam River
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Malaysiakini
Amid rising flood waters in the Bertam Valley, a 19-year old motorcycle mechanic said he and his father had to break a window and pry open a metal wire grille to save the rest of the family.
Mohd Shaifi Jamil said 20 minutes before the first warning sirens were sounded at midnight, his friend, whose father works in Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), has already called to alert him of an impending flood.
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t was in the midst of preparing for the expected floods at about 12.20am that Mohd Shaifi discovered his mother and twin sister were trapped by the sudden torrent of water.
“The water wasn’t here yet and I was pushing my motorcycle (to higher ground), and then it came suddenly. I panicked because my mom was inside (the house).
“I tried the door, but I could not open it (because of the water pressure). I opened the window and saw that my mother was fine except that the water had risen to her chest.
“Me and my father tried breaking through the window and eventually we succeeded, and we took my mother and sister out and headed for safety,” he said, pointing to the window.
His father lives separately opposite his home.
Their houses would later become almost completely submerged in water, Mohd Shaifi’s was covered in silt up to just below the window when Malaysiakini visited on Thursday and spoke to him.
Duo broke window to rescue family from floods
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Malaysiakini
On Day Two after the Bertam Valley flash flood, residents are fuming over the lack of governmental support for their clean-up efforts.
“The flood is not the real problem. After the incident, we are invisible. Did anyone from the government departments come? Not even one.
“When welcoming (Pahang Crown Prince Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah) and other dignitaries, everyone is there, having their photos taken.
“There is no one here to coordinate the clean-up efforts. We even paid for all these; the fuel and the wages,” local-born businessman Wong Kan Singsaid yesterday.
Bertam flood victims fume over ‘invisible’ treatment
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The gates of the Cameron Highlands hydroelectric dam were opened at 12.20am on 23 October 2013, flooding farms in Ringlet and surrounding areas.
Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Yusri Abdullah Sani, said the dam officials had to fully open the first gate, for fear that the rising water level would reach the maximum level, which would have led to all four gates being forced open automatically.
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Malaysiakini
COMMENT The Cameron Highlands dam overflow tragedy that struck the residents of Bertam Valley in Ringlet is a sign of worse things to come.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) says it followed standard operating procedures (SOP). However, several questions remain unanswered.
TNB must therefore hold an inquiry and go into the full length to investigate any breaches of the SOP. And there must be no cover-up. The Cameron Highlands District Office, the District Land Office, police and state government must all take a very serious view of what has happened to avoid future tragedies.
This was not a natural disaster. If the rain has been falling for about a week, why did TNB wait so long to release the water accumulated in the Cameron Highlands hydroelectric dam? Was there other reason, or consideration, over human life and property?
Ringlet tragedy a sign of worse things to come
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Malaysiakini
The residents of Kampung Lembah Bertam are urging the authorities to build a retaining wall and a wider irrigation canal to prevent possible recurrences of mudslides.
Village head Wong Fook Shai, 56, said such a move was necessary as heavy rains frequently caused mudslides at the river banks.
“The authorities should build a retaining wall first and then widen the river. If not the situation will get worse as the floods will cause mudslides which will destroy our farms,” he told Bernama yesterday.
Wong, who has been the village head since 2009, said the tragedy which occurred on Wednesday was the worst ever experienced by the villagers.
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n a related development, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has approved RM38.9 million for rebuilding the area affected by mud floods in the valley.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister G Palanivel said, other than overhauling the surrounding area, the fund would also be used to deepen and broaden the Bertam River and relocate affected residents to a new site.
“Najib then decided to give immediate aid to revive the affected area,” Palanivel, who is also MIC chief, told reporters after chairing the party’s central working committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
– Bernama
Residents urge authorities to build retaining wall
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Malaysiakini
In the wake of the Bertam Valley flash floods in Cameron Highlands, some victims claim that the police did not go door-to-door to evacuate residents.
They say this is important, because warning sirens alerting of a water release from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam are a common and largely harmless occurrence and the locals say they have become desensitised to it.
“We had this experience before in 1988, where the police and Rela (People’s Volunteer Corps) went door-to-door to tell us to evacuate.”
“This time, they definitely didn’t,” said vegetable farmer Khor They Keng, who claims to have suffered losses in excess of RM200,000 when flood waters swept over her farm.
She was speaking to Malaysiakini today about the disaster in the early hours of yesterday morning, showing the damage to her farm.
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Another local resident Wong Yin Yong corroborated Khor’s account, saying the police would normally urge the people to evacuate hours before the water is released, or stay at their own risk.
“It is not like this time. When the siren was on, the water was already here. You must warn the people before you release the water, not release the water with the siren because we are used to it already.
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When contacted regarding these revelations, Cameron Highlands police chief Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu denied the allegations and insisted that the police had called for an evacuation.
He said police went around in their patrol cars and used loudspeakers to urge residents to evacuate at about 11.45pm, about 15 minutes before the dam’s gate was first opened.
No evacuation call made, says Cameron flood victims
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Free Malaysia Today
TNB must explain Cameron H’lands’ tragedy
An MP points towards a possible negligence on the part of TNB in its failure to monitor the dam’s water level timely; thus leading to the mishap.
KUALA LUMPUR: Raub MP Mohamad Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz today urged Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to provide an explanation on circumstances surrounding yesterday’s mud flood at Cameron Highlands which claimed three lives.
Mohamad Ariff said if the company had done monitoring works adequately, it would have noticed the rise in water levels.
“Why was the water level in the dam not monitored? If TNB had monitored the water level, I don’t think it would be necessary for an emergency release to be done,” he said, adding that water levels do not simply rise up in an instant.
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Mohamad Ariff stressed that if TNB had monitored the water levels appropriately, the extent of damage on life and property could have been reduced.
“TNB could have warned people in time, reducing harm to life and property. It should have taken steps to reduce the damage,” he said.
“Also, how come the dam’s construction was so fragile, which led to yesterday’s incident?” he asked.
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NST
24 October 2013| last updated at 01:00PM
Cameron mud flood UPDATE: Massive cleaning up underway
AMERON HIGHLANDS: A massive clean-up exercise is underway in Bertam Valley, the site of a mud flood, which claimed two lives yesterday.
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Malaysiakini
Residents at Kampung Bertam Valley in Cameron Highlands claimed they were caught off guard in yesterday’s disaster as they did not think there was anything amiss or unusual when they heard the warning siren at midnight.
Village head Wong Fook Chai told The Star that they heard the siren for about 15 to 20 minutes before water came gushing into the village.
“We were caught off guard. How were we supposed to know? Usually the water release does not overflow the banks of the river,” he told the daily.
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However, Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands president R Ramakrishnan said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) had given ample warning for residents to evacuate.
“They blasted the siren for half an hour before releasing water from the dam,” he was quoted saying in the daily.
Meanwhile, according to the New Straits Times, district police chief DSP Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said police were informed by TNB of the warning, and those who lived near the dam were asked to evacuate.
Residents unaware of danger despite hearing siren
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Malaysiakini
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) needs to explain why the water level at the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Cameron Highlands was not consistently monitored to the extent that an emergency release had to done, an MP said.
DAP’s Raub MP Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz said that this is because water levels do not “rise in an instant”.
“TNB says procedures were met, but why wasn’t there monitoring action done so that there would be time to warn the people?
“The water valve had to be opened to manage the water flow without informing the people and taking steps to reduce harm to property,” he said.
As such, Mohd Ariff has submitted an application to the speaker for an emergency motion to debate the matter in the Dewan Rakyat.
MP: Why wasn’t Cameron dam water level monitored?
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（金馬崙24日訊）“金馬崙巴登威利洪災”清理工作進入第2天，居民及拯救單位仍忙著清理工作，如果天氣良好，預料援救及清理工作可在2天內結束。
http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/469237
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NST Video:
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WE SHALL WAIT AND SEE IF THIS GOVERNMENT WILL KEEP ITS PROMISES.
The Sun daily
Cameron Highlands’ flash flood victims to get new houses
Posted on 23 October 2013 – 09:59pm
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23, 2013): The government will build houses for families affected by the flash flood at Bertam Valley, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said.
He said the victims are being temporarily housed in community halls in the area.
“We have to find land and build houses for about 15 families. They are badly affected and are living in the community halls.
Cameron Highlands’ flash flood victims to get new houses
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The Sun daily
Search for flood victim called off due to bad weather
CAMERON HIGHLANDS (Oct 23, 2013): A search and rescue (SAR) operation for an Indonesian woman, believed to have been swept away by strong currents at the Bertam River in Ringlet here today, was called off at 6pm due to bad weather.
Cameron Highlands police chief DSP Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said the operation to locate the victim, identified only as Jarwati, would resume tomorrow at 8am.
He said the police, together with the Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Department and Malaysian Armed Forces would expand the area of search at the river.
He added that Jarwati, 24, was believed to have been swept away by strong currents at 2am.
Cameron Highlands’ flash flood victims to get new houses
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The Sun daily
Another flood victim in Cameron Highlands dies
Last updated on 23 October 2013 – 06:05pm
CAMERON HIGHLANDS (Oct 23, 2013): Another victim died in a flash flood early this morning after the Bertam River burst its banks when water was released from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet here.
Cameron Highlands police chief DSP Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said Tan Tuck Choi, 51, suffered a heart attack and died en route to the Sultanah Kalsom Hospital here.
His death brings to three the number of those who perished in the flood. The other two deceased were identified as Bangladeshi national Jahanjir, in his 30s, and an Indonesian woman, Kesmat, 46, who drowned in the incident. Jahanjir’s body was found in a house while Kesmat’s was located under a collapsed unit.
Mohd Zahari said another victim reported missing and purportedly swept off by strong currents was identified as an Indonesian national, Jarwati, 17. He said local resident Ho Kim Way, 38, who sustained head and body injuries was warded at the hospital.
Another flood victim in Cameron Highlands dies
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PHOTOS FROM THE ALBUM OF HAN YOK CHOPIL
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Perak Today
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Malaysiakini
Two foreigners and a Malaysian Chinese have died while one foreigner is missing after a gate at the Cameron Highlands hydro-electric dam was manually opened early this morning.
According to Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Yusri Abdullah Sani, the department was alerted on the casualties at about 1.38am.
“A total of 28 personnel are involved in the search-and rescue operation. So far we have recovered two bodies – a Bangladeshi male, and an Indonesian female. An Indonesian woman is reported missing,” he said.
“A siren at the Sultan Abu Bakar dam in Ringlet was sounded about midnight to alert residents that water would be released,” he said when contacted.
“The first gate was lifted by four inches 20 minutes after the siren was sounded. Those at the dam then released more water from the first gate at 1am, followed by full release at 2.43am.”
Yusri said the dam officials had to fully open the first gate, for fear that the rising water level would reach the maximum level, which would have led to all four gates being forced open automatically.
Three dead after Cameron Highlands dam gate opened
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Malaysiakini
About 80 houses on the fringes of the Bertam river, near Cameron Highlands, were swept away by strong currents after water was released from the Sultan Abu Bakar dam, in Ringlet, early this morning.
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Two foreign nationals were found drowned in the incident while another is still missing.
Cameron Highlands district police chief Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said the victims were identified as Bangladeshi Jahangir, in his 30s, and an Indonesian woman, Kesmat, 46.
He said the dam water in Ringlet had to be released to prevent the dam from bursting following continuous rain since 7pm yesterday.
Mohd Zahari said about 100 vehicles were also badly damaged in the incident.
“The first release of water at the dam was made at midnight followed by another at 1am and the third at 2.45am, causing water in the Bertam River nearby to suddenly overflow its banks,” he said.
According to him, 20 families in the area were evacuated to the Ringlet community hall.
“The bodies of the two victims were sent to Sultanah Kalsom Hospital in Cameron Highlands,” he said.
Mohd Zahari said following information received on the incident, a search and rescue operation was carried out as early as 7.30am today, with 243 rescue personnel involved in the operation.
– Bernama
100 vehicles, 80 houses swept away by strong currents
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