KUALA LUMPUR – Heavy rain and debris flow were among the causes for the flood and landslides at the Sungai Terengganu area, near the Sultan Mahmud Hydroelectric Power Plant at Lake Kenyir last Sunday.
According to the Menteri Besar of Terengganu, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the Terengganu Forestry Department has conducted an investigation on the incident.
The investigation concluded that there was no illegal logging activity at the area as alleged by certain quarters.
“They happened due to the five days of continuous rain from 23 until 27 February and reached 1,000 mililitres,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, the Terengganu State Forestry Department Director, Roslan Rani denied the illegal logging allegations around Lake Kenyir which caused the huge damage during flood last Sunday.
On the contrary, he said, based on the briefing by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the situation was caused by landslides near the Sultan Mahmud Hydroelectric Power Plant at Kenyir.
He said, the debris flow also caused the trees nearby, garbage, dead branches to be flow into the river.
Elaborating further, Ahmad Samsuri said that the landslide was about 100 meters in length and 50 metres wide with the thickness between five to 10 metres.
The debris flow moved from the peak of the hill until Sungai Terengganu which reached up to 300 metres in length.
“A post-disaster coordination meeting was held and the cleaning works are ongoing.
“Aerial observation and patrols are carried out from time to time to monitor the situation,” he said. -MalaysiaGazette
