Catastrophic floods in Yan caused by land clearing, says activist

 

Videos and pictures of the floods in Yan, Kedah, yesterday were horrifying, says Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

GEORGE TOWN: The massive floods in Yan, Kedah, yesterday were caused by the clearing of forests, judging by the torrent of muddy floodwaters from Gunung Jerai which engulfed an entire town, a green activist said.

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president Meenakshi Raman said the Yan area had been prone to flooding but yesterday’s flood intensity and area affected were “historic”.

“The videos and pictures we saw were horrifying. The mud coming down from the Mukim Singkir sub-district was an indication that there had been massive development in the area.

“No floodwater will be mud-coloured if there was no felling of trees and wanton clearing of land. If the area is forested, you would not get ‘teh tarik’. This is a sign from Mother Nature,” she told FMT.

Meenakshi said the state government must explain if there had been felling of trees on the hills or if a quarry operating there could have caused the mud floods.

She said all development activities in the district should be halted temporarily to check compliance with the Yan district local plan.

Meenakshi said SAM and local residents had taken the Kedah government to court over the legality of an earth quarry there several years ago but the courts had decided against them.

She said an audit of all land clearing in the area should be made public.

Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, in a preliminary briefing of the situation to the press, said the floods originated in the forest reserves of Gunung Jerai.

“These floods are caused by an ‘upstream phenomenon’ on the hilltop. There has been no logging in the area and the forest enjoys protected status,” he said, without elaborating on the “phenomenon”.

Sanusi said the intense rainfall on the hilltop saw water gushing down at great speed, causing the river to burst its banks.

He said residents had to be housed elsewhere due to their Covid-19 quarantine status. Another 14 Covid-19 positive victims were also moved to another place.

As at 9pm, a 60-year-old unidentified man had died in the floods and one person was feared trapped in a house following a landslide.

Sanusi said all hands were on deck to handle the situation, including at a special disaster operations centre in Yan. - FMT