KUCHING, Jan 15: Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii, together with Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong today paid a courtesy visit to the Sungai Sarawak Regulation Scheme (SSRS) that is currently managed by Kuching Barrage Management Sdn Bhd to better understand the operations of the barrage especially in connection to flood mitigation in Kuching.
According to Yii in a statement today, for the past few days, due to heavy downpour and different other factors, many parts of Kuching were submerged in water including locations that have not experienced flash floods for the past 10 to 20 years.
“One of the concerns often raised especially during such flash floods is the operations of the barrage. So we believe it is important to better understand the whole operation and to make sure it is functioning as it is supposed to be.
“We are grateful for the person in charge and the staff that were very helpful in explaining to us their operations, standard operating procedures (SOP), as well as when they make decisions whether to close or open the barrage. When there is high tide, they have to close up the barrage in order to prevent the inflow of water from the sea,” he said.
Yii noted, they were informed that if SSRS staff do not do that, the floods in Kuching may be worse due to the inflow of water into the city from the sea.
He explained, in order to make such decisions, they receive daily weather reports from the Malaysian Meteorological Department, and the real-time water and rainfall data are collected by the telemetry system and based on a computational model of the Sarawak River.
“The predicted discharge and water level are the two main factors in deciding when to operate the barrage gates. With a better understanding of the operations, we then can explain better to our constituency and also better monitor the operations of the barrage for the good of the people.
“While it itself cannot solve all the problems of the flash flood, but with good operations, we hope it can at least mitigate some of the flooding problems we face in Kuching,” he added. –DayakDaily.
Caption: Yii (left) and Violet (second left) being briefed by the person in charge and staff during their visit to Sungai Sarawak Regulation Scheme, today
