ID :
34289
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 20:35
Auther :

HISTORY OF LANDSLIDES IN HULU KLANG

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Hulu Klang, the place where the latest
landslide occurred in Taman Bukit Utama and Taman Bukit Mewah in Bukit
Antarabangsa Saturday, is actually an area that is prone to landslides.

On Dec 11, 1993, 48 people were killed when one of the three condominium
blocks of Highland Towers in Taman Hillview, located 1.5km away from today's
landslide scene, collapsed.

The tragedy shocked the whole nation as it was the first in its history
since the independence.

The collapse of the building after three days of heavy downpours had
created public awareness on the safety of buildings built on hillslopes.


Apart from the Highland Towers, other landslide-related incidents which had
occurred in the Hulu Klang area are as follows:

Dec 10, 1985: Two new unoccupied double-storey houses in Taman Melawati,
collapsed at 8.50am during heavy downpours.


Sept 17, 1998: One house was destroyed in Gombak due to soil
erosion.

March 29, 1990: A landslide occurred in Taman Setia Wangsa, affecting 80
families in two flats.

Dec 25, 1997: Three people were buried alive in a landslide in Km 17 of the
Ampang-Hulu Kelang Expressway.

May 15, 1999: Thousands of residents in Bukit Antarabangsa and Wangsa Ukay
in Jalan Hulu Klang were trapped when a 100-metre long landslide occurred at
5.20am and cut off the only access road to the hilly residential area.

Feb 24, 2000: A four-year-old child was killed in a landslide in Kampung
Sri Damai, near Taman Kencana, Ampang.

Oct 5, 2000: A landslide occurred in Jalan Bukit Antarabangsa during heavy
downpours but no casualty was reported.

Nov 20, 2002: A landslide at 4.30am flattened the double-storey bungalow of
Affin Bank Bhd chairman Gen (Rtd) Ismail Omar.

His wife, Azizah Abdul Aziz, his son Hijaz, two in-laws, two grandchildren
and two Indonesian maids, perished in the 4.35am incident.

The bungalow was located 300m away from the Highland Towers.

May 31, 2006: Four people including two children were killed when they were
buried alive in a landslide that flattened three blocks of longhouses at Kampung
Pasir during a heavy downpours at 4.45pm.

-- BERNAMA


X