Kawasan hutan seluas kira-kira dua hektar berhampiran Plaza Tol Denai Alam, Lebuhraya Bertingkat Damansara-Shah Alam (Dash) di Shah Alam terbakar tengah hari tadi

Penolong Pengarah Bahagian Operasi Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Selangor Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar berkata pihaknya menerima panggilan berhubung kejadian itu pada 12.58 tengah hari sebelum lapan orang pegawai dan anggota dari Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Bukit Jelutong dikerah ke tempat kejadian.

“Kesemua pegawai dan anggota telah bergegas ke tempat kejadian bersama sebuah jentera serta tangki air dan tiba di lokasi kejadian pada 1.22 tengah hari.

“Setibanya di lokasi, kebakaran itu melibatkan hutan dianggar seluas dua hektar dan api berjaya dikawal pada 3.40 petang," katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Dia berkata setakat lima petang tadi, kerja-kerja pemadaman masih dijalankan.

Natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said 171 rivers are deemed slightly polluted while 468, or 70%, are considered clean.

However, he said the 33 polluted rivers recorded a class III to IV level of pollution, adding that there were no cases of class V pollution reported last year.

In December 2024, Kurup’s predecessor, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said the number of polluted rivers had reduced from 59 in 2019 to 25 in 2023.

The number of clean rivers stood at 486 that year, reflecting an improvement in river water quality at the time.

MIRI (Jan 27): Underperforming drain maintenance contractors will face termination if they continue to fail in carrying out their duties.

In giving this reminder, Mayor Adam Yii pointed out that while floods could hit due to many reasons, poor condition of the drains should never be one of them.

“Contractors who fail to perform will not be tolerated. “If they’re not doing their job, action will be taken, including contract termination,” he said during a press briefing, held after chairing the Miri City Council (MCC) meeting on Monday.

The Pujut assemblyman stressed that with drains at housing areas and the small ones across the city being under the jurisdiction of the MCC, they must be clean and well-maintained to ensure that the overflow could be properly discharged during heavy rainfall.

“Cleaning works are currently ongoing in the flood-prone areas here, especially in Senadin where excess water cannot be discharged efficiently because of clogged drains.

“Hopefully with the improve maintenance, flooding caused by blocked drains would not be repeated during the next round of heavy rain,” he told the reporters.

Adding on, Yii further clarified that drainage maintenance was under different authorities depending on the type and location of the infrastructure.

“Smaller roadside drains and those in the residential areas generally fall under the jurisdiction of the MCC,” he reiterated.

“The larger storm or monsoon drains, as well as the retention ponds are maintained by the DID (Department of Irrigation and Drainage).

“Not everything is under the council. Each agency has its own responsibility, and the public must understand this clearly,” he added.

CONCEPCION, Chile, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Fires ‌near the southern Chilean city of Concepcion were dying down by Wednesday morning as cloudy weather and ‌humid air brought cooler temperatures to the coastal region after days of extreme heat fueled the deadly ‌blaze.

Plumes of smoke still lingered, and the current death toll of 20 is expected to rise as police and the state coroner searched for bodies in apartment blocks destroyed by the fires.

Carlos Lopez, ‍a city councillor from nearby Cobquecura, gathered money, nails, wood, cement and ‍other construction materials with help from local ‌businesses and delivered them by truck to Punta de Parra, one of the hardest-hit areas that saw dozens of homes ‍destroyed.

RESIDENT ​SAW 'DREAMS DISAPPEAR'

"We saw the desperation and the need and put our hand on our heart," Lopez said.

The truck ran out of wood before local resident Doralisa Silva, 34, could get any, but she received toys and ⁠jackets for her two-year-old daughter, Celeste. They were sheltering beneath metal sheets ‌propped against a surviving cement wall.

"It was chaotic and painful, seeing all your dreams disappear overnight," Silva said.

When the fire broke out, Silva ⁠tried to flee the ‍town with her daughter but exits were engulfed, forcing her to take refuge in a dirt field by their home.

Silva and other affected residents praised community help but criticized what they described as a lack of national government support.

"All the help we have right ‍now has been from people who’ve delivered meals, food, everything," said ‌neighbor Nancy Barrientos, 44, who called for tents, bathrooms or clear information from authorities.

MAYOR CRITICIZES SLOW RESPONSE

The mayor of nearby Penco, Rodrigo Vera, said local governments were restoring basic services such as electricity but echoed criticism of a slow national response.

"It took 12 hours to declare an emergency," Vera said, adding the delay had hindered deployment of military and firefighting resources. "Everything has been slow. People's pain isn't tomorrow, it was yesterday."

Outgoing President Gabriel Boric visited Concepcion on Sunday but not the destroyed communities, citing security concerns.

In Temuco on Tuesday, Boric said reconstruction would begin once searches for victims were complete and ‌that emergency housing and financial aid were starting.

"We are working at maximum speed, but there are processes that must be respected," Boric said.

His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Boric's government was criticized for a slow reconstruction following deadly fires in Valparaiso in ​2024. President-elect Jose Antonio Kast, who takes office on March 11, has vowed to prioritize reconstruction in fire-hit communities.

"People are hungry and need a roof. This requires a different rhythm and political will," Vera said.

(Reporting by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Cassandra Garrison and Alison Williams)