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KUALA LUMPUR: In just a few hours on Thursday, the city was hit by more than 5% of the rain it should have received in an entire year.
According to the deputy director general (specialized sector) of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), Nishad Mohamed Shaffy, some areas received 100 mm, while other parts of the basin exceeded 200 mm.
“No one anticipated that,” he said of the incident that he described as “extremely rare.”
Meteorological data shows that the accumulated annual precipitation in Kuala Lumpur is around 2,500 mm.
“Usually when it rains a lot in a part of the city like Ampang, the city center would be free of rain, but by Thursday it was raining everywhere and the entire Gombak (water) basin was flooded,” he said.
Nishad said that DID began diverting water to its Jinjang, Batu and Desa retention ponds to help prevent the river from overflowing in Kuala Lumpur (the Klang River basin).
The flood mitigation system diverts additional water from Sungai Gombak and Sungai Keroh to the Batu and Jinjang retention ponds.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) said the tunnel was closed to traffic at 4 pm Thursday to allow its “Mode 4” activation.
Mode 1 is when it doesn’t rain much and the tunnel remains passable for traffic.
Mode 2 is when there is a moderate storm and some water needs to be diverted into the tunnel, but it is confined to the tunnel’s lower drainage chamber, which still remains passable.
Mode 3 is when there is a major storm and the tunnel is closed to traffic as both traffic platforms will be waiting to receive water.
“On Thursday, it was an unusually heavy rain and exceeded our maximum capacity,” the spokesman said.
He added that the tunnel was closed six times this year for Mode 3.
Thursday marked the first time this year that the tunnel had to operate in Mode 4.
The spokesman said the tunnel will be closed over the next few days so it can be cleared of debris.
“It is expected to reopen next Monday,” he added.
The city was hit by flash flooding after heavy rains Thursday afternoon that caused cars to be submerged, while several incidents of downed trees were also reported.
Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department were dispatched to assist in rescue missions, while Kuala Lumpur City Council officers assisted in the relocation of affected residents to flood relief centers.
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