by BERNAMA

THE Negri Sembilan Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) will look into claims by residents of Taman Pinggiran Sungai Kelamah, Gemas, that the flood warning siren did not work when floodwater spread to the area two days ago.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (picture), however, said the factor of heavy rain may have caused the siren to be not audible to residents in the area.

“A similar situation happened in Ampangan, Seremban, when the siren was working but could not be heard due to heavy rain.

“We will investigate (the matter), maybe we will increase the volume of the siren further or install more sirens. We plan to increase the number of sirens and currently, we are installing the system in several districts,” he told reporters after a programme to distribute 5A form (a notice which allows a recipient to apply for land title) to eight villagers of Kampung Chuah yesterday.

Based on the state DID information, 22 flood warning sirens have been installed in high-risk areas to warn local residents in preparation to save themselves and their properties when the disaster occurs.

On Sunday, a news portal reported that residents in Taman Pinggiran Sungai Kelamah were disappointed when the flood warning siren failed to function causing the victims to be evacuated to a temporary relief centre at SK Sungai Kelamah without any extra clothes as water entered their residences very quickly.

In this regard, Aminuddin said Tampin faced its worst flood with the highest number of victims involving 1,400 individuals from 396 families from 2,037 flood victims in the state as at 8am.

Meanwhile, he said the route to the Gunung Telapak Buruk transmitting station in Jelebu is still not passable to all traffic following a landslide which is being cleared.