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THOSE staying in a Manggatal neighbourhood and Membakut village are appealing to the local authorities, especially the Drainage and Irrigation and Public Works Departments, for help to put a stop to the flash floods in their areas.

The drains outside their respective yards fill up quickly when it rains heavily, with the water spilling into their homes and damaging their property. This most recently occurred at the Manggatal housing area in the third week of June.

A resident of this neighbourhood suspects that the rain-water is not being channelled away from his home fast enough because the large drain servicing the area is not being cleaned properly.

The outlet for this drain was clogged with silt and water vegetation was flourishing in parts of this structure, according to him.

Thick layers of mud can be seen inside the culverts for the drain.

A Membakut resident, on the other hand, suspects that the drain nearest to her may be clogged with earth from the road-widening work being carried out in this part of the district. Both individuals provided Hotline with the location of their homes which was forwarded to the DID and PWD.

A DID spokeswoman said the agency would have to verify the suggestion about the slip-dash effort to maintain the Manggatal drain.

“Our officers will check on the condition of the structure,” she said. “If need be, the contractor assigned to attend to the drain will be queried about this work and reminded of what is expected of him.” She said the agency’s staff would double-check on future maintenance efforts involving the drain and advise the individual accordingly of what was lacking. She said the contractor might be unfamiliar of what was required because the DID only assumed responsibility for the drain earlier this year.

“City Hall officially handed it over to us in March. The individual was appointed shortly afterwards to maintain the drain. “An inadvertent oversight is likely to blame for the resident’s misgivings about the drain being poorly maintained.”

The spokeswoman said the DID was aware of the flood woes in this part of Manggatal. “We are in the midst of identifying those flood-prone areas around Manggatal.”

The residents hope the DID will ensure that the drain is cleared properly and quickly.

She said the agency hoped to come up with possible solutions to the flash floods which had hit those living and working there.

“A study on the drainage around the town will have to be conducted to facilitate this effort.”

LOI of Manggatal said his home, off Lorong Mempelam 3C, had been flooded on and off over the past nine months.

“On a Friday afternoon in June, my house began to flood after less than half an hour of rainfall,” he said

He said the water eventually rose about one foot high.

“Some of my furniture and electrical appliances were damaged as a result of this.”

He bemoaned the time and energy spent in cleaning up the mud left behind, after the flood had receded.

Given the recurring drainage woes, he hoped the local authorities would step up efforts to maintain the structure move regularly.

“They should focus on having the outlets and culverts for the drain unclogged.”

Loi went down to the large drain, behind the row of houses where he lived, on the Saturday after the recent flood.

“Thick layers of mud could be seen above the surface of the water inside the culverts.” He said there was also an island, full of overgrown grass, floating close to the culverts.

The width of this section of the drain had narrowed substantially because of the “island”, according to him.

“I couldn’t understand why these obstacles had not been removed when the drain was last cleaned in April.

“It is very likely that the flash floods may happen again if this work is not carried out properly.”

Meanwhile, the PWD is looking into the flood problems along a stretch leading to a Membakut village. A Department spokesman said its staff would inspect the roadside drains there.

“We will have to determine whether these structures are under our jurisdiction,” he said.

“If this is so, then we will arrange to have the drains cleared as soon as possible.”

He said the relevant agency would be informed about the drainage woes, should the opposite prove to be true.

ONG of Membakut said water periodically overflowed from the drains, flooding her land in Kg Tandoi after only a few hours of rain.

She said this had been happening since work began to widen the main road, near the village, earlier this year.

“It, sometimes, takes days for the water to recede,” she said. “On top of the stench which we have to endure when the water stagnates, we also live in fear of coming down with dengue fever as mosquitoes are breeding in these ‘pools’.”