KUCHING: Every effort is being taken to ensure the river barrage system is functioning well to minimise the risk of flooding during the prevailing inclement weather.
State Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said the ministry was keeping a close eye on the situation together with the Sarawak River Board (SRB).
He gave the assurance ahead of the predicted heavy rainfall in Kuching and nine other areas from January 11-13.
“To make sure that the barrage operations function effectively in flood controls, data on the actual rainfall and water levels on the water surface, middle and at the bottom of the Sarawak River will be sent every 30 minutes to the barrage control room,” he said.
“The most important thing is that we be certain that the Kuching barrage system functions effectively,” he said during his visit to the Kuching Barrage here on Monday (Jan 10).
Lee added that the barrage system would assist the ministry in monitoring the flood situation and at the same time, give warnings to nearby residents on the risk of flooding via the telemetric station.
“With the bad weather condition reports from the Sarawak Meteorological Department, in a few days those living in the low lying areas need to be vigilant and to heed advice from the relevant authorities such as the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) from time to time,” he said.
Lee said currently there were 20 telemetric stations operating along the Sarawak River which are linked to the Kuching Barrage Operations Room.
“The 20 telemetric stations will provide the current information to the Barrage Ops room to make the decision on the release of excess water from the Sarawak River to the sea.
“The telemetric station is also equipped with a siren to give warnings to the nearby village residents to evacuate quickly to higher grounds should there be possibility of a flood in the area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee also said the SRB had sent its teams to all the villages where the telemetric stations are located to remind the the village residents to evacuate to higher grounds as soon as they hear the siren.
Also present were Assistant Transport Minister I Datuk Dr Jerip Susil and Assistant Transport Minister 2 Datuk Henry Jinep.
