Senggarang folk glad water pumps fixed to help tackle flood problem

BATU PAHAT, March 13 (Bernama) -- Residents around Senggarang here, whose houses have been flooded since Saturday (March 11), can finally heave a huge sigh of relief following the installation of mobile water pumps at the Kuala Senggarang water gate.

Parit Permatang village head Abu Bakar Raja Samad said the residents have been nervous since Friday (March 10) whenever the compounds of their houses were inundated as their homes are close to the sea and river.

According to him, what is more worrying for the residents is when water is released from the nearby dam to the Parit Karjo Simpang Kiri area here, which is believed to worsen the flood situation in the area.

“This time, we did not expect the houses to be flooded up to 0.3 metres. A similar situation occurred in 2006, coupled with the occurrence of high tide, so we are just overflowing with water from other areas although it has been hot the past few days. 

“Thankful for the installation of the pump, which has been a huge help for the residents as it has reduced flooding, especially the areas around the houses,” he said when met by Bernama, here, today.

Abu Bakar said that in the past 17 years, whenever it rained continuously for two days, only the house compounds would be flooded despite being near the river because their houses are located on higher ground.

“The river in this village is a waterway to the sea, so when there is a high tide and overflowing water then it causes stagnant floodwaters,” he said.

A resident, Mohd Zaimi Abdullah hopes the pump can lower the water level and help speed up recovery since his home, which is next to Sungai Senggarang, has also been inundated since Saturday.

The Senggarang area became the latest location in the district to be hit by floods after several other areas in the district, among them Seri Medan, Yong Peng, Parit Raja and Parit Sulong, have been inundated since March 1.

As of noon today, the State Disaster Management Committee said there were 40,746 flood victims registered in Johor, with Batu Pahat recording the highest number with 39,301.

Yesterday, Johor Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) director Azren Khalil was reported to have said that 15 pumps had been installed in Batu Pahat so far, namely four pumps at the Kuala Senggarang water gate, Parit Bintang (two), Parit Jambul (two) and one each in Parit Londang, Parit Asam Kumbang, Parit Lapis, Parit Sulong, Sungai Kajang, Parit Separap and Taman Botani in Sri Medan, some of which were installed in 2011.

-- BERNAMA