KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Dec 2008: About 2,000 residents of four areas in Bukit Antarabangsa, where four people were killed in a landslide yesterday, have been ordered to move immediately.
The order was given based on a study by the Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram) and the Public Works Department (PWD), which has found that the areas have a high risk of being hit by landslides.
Selangor chief police officer, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, said the four areas are the Impian Selatan Condominium, Taman Bukit Mewah, Jalan 6A Taman Bukit Jaya and Jalan 9 Taman Wangsa Ukay.
“I hope they follow orders. If anything untoward happens operations personnel cannot be held responsible. Inspection shows that the condo, which is on a hillside and near the landslide scene, may collapse anytime,” he told reporters this evening.
Khalid said there was a mistake in giving information during his afternoon news conference that the Kyoto Garden Condominium would collapse anytime and that between 60 and 70 residents were ordered to move out.
“The information I was given was wrong. Kyoto Garden is far away from the landslide scene,” he said.
Khalid said the Kyoto Garden condominium was located outside the danger zone and far from the landslide area and as such the residents need not worry.
“We have however advised the residents of the four areas named. We do not want to see another terrible tragedy happening,” he said while assuring that General Operations Force personnel will ensure the security of their homes.
A temporary tactical bridge has been laid across a monsoon drain to connect landslide affected Taman Bukit Mewah to Riverdale Park nearby after the main road to the former was cut off by the disaster early yesterday.
The DR90 bridge which was completed today by members of the army Engineers Corps based in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, enables residents trapped in their neighbourhood since yesterday, to move in and out of the area.
The first car was moved out of Taman Bukit Mewah via the bridge at 7pm.
Corps chief Brig-Gen Datuk Abdul Nasser Ahmad said the 26m bridge could withstand a weight of 70 tonnes each time.
“The single-lane bridge can take up to three passing vehicles each time,” he added.
Abdul Nasser said eight trucks were needed to carry the parts and equipment to build the bridge which would remain across the monsoon drain for a week.
He said with the completion of the bridge, his men would then proceed with building a 250-metre road to connect the affected housing estates in the area. — Bernama
