IPOH, Oct 23 — The Perak Department of Environment (DOE) has collected water samples from Sungai Perak near the Kampung Sungai Papan Bridge in Gerik following a report of the river turning blue, suspected to be caused by pollution.

Its director Datuk Dr Mohammad Ezanni Mat Salleh said the investigation is ongoing, and the samples will be analysed to determine the cause.

“We suspect that mining activities may be involved, but the exact cause will be confirmed once the analysis is complete,” he said, adding that the department is also investigating nearby mining areas located between 19 to 40 kilometres from the site.

Mohammad Ezanni assured that the river’s water quality remains safe and does not pose a risk to local residents. 

He added that the DOE’s monitoring station in the area has not detected any pollution alerts, and recent monitoring on Oct 9 confirmed the water quality was good.

He added that the DOE’s monitoring station in the area has not detected any pollution alerts, and recent monitoring on Oct 9 confirmed the water quality was good.

He further urged the public to report any unusual changes in water colour or fish deaths to assist in the investigation.

KUCHING (Oct 23): Several residential areas in Kuching South were once again inundated following a heavy downpour around 6pm on Wednesday, prompting renewed calls for accountability from the authorities over the longstanding flash flood problem.

Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong said areas such as Pending Heights, Bintawa Fishing Village, Sungai Apong, and Foochow Road No. 1 were among those badly affected, with rainwater overflowing into homes within minutes.

“Household items, electrical appliances, furniture and vehicles were damaged. Many residents were left helpless, spending long hours cleaning mud and debris from their flooded homes,” she said in a statement today.

She called on the Sarawak government to announce and distribute a compassionate fund to assist the residents in the affected areas.

“These victims should not be left to bear the burden alone when the root cause of their suffering lies in the government’s neglect and failure in proper urban drainage management.”

Yong described the incident as a ‘recurring nightmare’ that has plagued residents for decades, despite numerous public complaints and her repeated calls in the State Legislative Assembly for action.

She said it was unacceptable that in this day and age, Kuching residents must still suffer property damage and hardship every time it rains heavily, adding that it reflected a serious lapse in urban planning and infrastructure management.

“What is most shocking and ironic is that in Pending Heights, the flash flood situation has actually worsened after the recent drainage upgrading works by MBKS (Kuching South City Council).

“This raises serious questions about the competency of the project, the quality of the planning, and whether there was a proper master drainage plan for the area in the first place,” she added.

As such, Yong called on the Sarawak Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), and MBKS to be held accountable for their failure to resolve the persistent problem.

She also urged the DID and MBKS to conduct a detailed technical assessment and rectify all failed drainage upgrading works in known flood-prone areas without further delay.

BALIK PULAU : Jalan Tun Sardon atau Jalan Negeri P14 di sini terpaksa ditutup selama dua hari bermula pukul 6 petang tadi susulan kejadian tanah runtuh yang berlaku hari ini.

Menurut Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) Pulau Pinang, penutupan itu bagi memberi laluan kepada kerja-kerja pembersihan jalan dan lain-lain kerja berkaitan oleh kontraktor yang terlibat.

Sehubungan itu, jabatan tersebut menasihatkan agar pengguna jalan raya menggunakan laluan alternatif dan merancang perjalanan dengan sebaiknya.

Terdahulu, satu kejadian tanah runtuh dilapor berlaku di situ iaitu berhampiran kawasan bukit Anjung Indah. Bagaimanapun, tiada mangsa dilaporkan terlibat.

Penolong Pengarah Bahagian Operasi Kebombaan dan Penyelamat, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) negeri, John Sagun Francis berkata, panggilan kecemasan mengenai kejadian it diterima kira-kira pukul 4.56 petang.

Katanya, sepasukan anggota dari Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Seri Balik Pulau kemudian dikerah ke lokasi untuk melakukan kerja-kerja pembersihan awal termasuk pengalihan pokok-pokok yang tumbang merintangi jalan berkenaan.

“Keadaan buat masa ini masih terkawal dan kawasan tersebut telah diserahkan kepada JKR dan pihak polis untuk tindakan lanjut,” katanya yang turut mengingatkan orang ramai agar berhati-hati ketika melalui laluan berbukit terutamanya ketika musim hujan bagi mengelakkan terperangkap dengan kejadian tanah runtuh.-UTUSAN

CANBERRA, Oct 20 — Australia’s weather bureau is not convinced that a La Nina weather pattern is forming that could change rainfall patterns and bring wilder weather to parts of the Americas, Asia and Oceania, affecting crop production, a senior climatologist said.

La Nina, and its analogue, El Nino, are caused by the cooling or warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.

The former typically brings greater rainfall to eastern Australia, South-east Asia and India with drier weather in the Americas, while El Nino does the reverse. Both can also lead to hurricanes and flooding.

Models forecasting the weather patterns typically converge on a strong signal around this time of year but there is currently a lot of variation, said Felicity Gamble of Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

“That speaks to the fact that there’s still a lot of uncertainty in the system,” she added.

La Nina conditions were present in weak strength, and would probably persist through December, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said this month.

The Australian bureau’s model shows sea surface temperatures brushing a La Nina threshold of 0.8 degrees Celsius below neutral levels in October, November and December before moving back towards neutral.

But the effect of the cooler water on atmospheric indicators such as cloud patterns and trade winds is not strong enough to impart confidence that a La Nina is taking place, Gamble added.

“Our model is probably one of the weaker forecasts for La Nina,” the senior climatologist said.

Although NOAA considered the atmospheric response sufficient, she said, “We’d like to see more.”

Except for some islands in the south-west Pacific, there was also no strong signal of rainfall patterns typically associated with La Nina, Gamble added.

“Because we aren’t seeing a particularly dominant La Nina-like pattern, we aren’t seeing the same magnitude of impacts ... When you have a weaker signal, you can have other influences start to play a bigger role and perhaps override it,” she said.

Three consecutive La Nina events between 2020 and 2023 brought plentiful rainfall leading to record crop yields in Australia, but drought and heatwaves in parts of the Americas. — Reuters