Upgrading of 140 hydrological stations, building of 107 new ones in Johor to be completed next year, state assembly told

ISKANDAR PUTERI (March 22): The Johor State Legislative Assembly was on Wednesday (March 22) informed that upgrading works on 140 hydrological stations as well as the construction of 107 new stations in the state are underway and expected to be completed next year.

Johor Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman K Raven Kumar said the upgrading work is being carried out by the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre under the Flood Forecasting and Warning Programme of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

"The work of upgrading and building the new stations is to predict the occurrence of floods seven days in advance, and issue a warning two days before the day of flooding.

"This will allow the National Disaster Management Agency to make an immediate announcement to the affected areas, and to all public agencies and rescuers, for the purpose of operational preparedness," he said during the winding-up session at the Johor state assembly at Bangunan Sultan Ismail, Kota Iskandar here on Wednesday.

On the release of dam water, Raven Kumar (Barisan Nasional-Tenggaroh) explained that the DID had an operation and maintenance manual for each dam.

He said the release of dam water is implemented in stages to ensure that the dam level is at 20% below the normal level.

Raven Kumar added that the release of water from several dams in the state was done in stages before the Northeast Monsoon started last October.

"The DID is always committed to providing early warnings to local residents to prepare for any possible floods that may occur.

"The department will also inform the District Disaster Operations Control Centre if the dam operator notices that the emergency level of the water reaches Level 2 as stated in the emergency action plan," he said.

In addition, he said, warning sirens will also be activated in three phases, with Phases 1 and 2 being when the dam water level is at the warning level, and Phase 3 being when the dam water level is at the danger level.

"This warning siren has the ability to reach up to a 2km radius depending on the local topographical conditions," he added.