KUALA LUMPUR: The major floods that hit the country at the end of last year and early this year resulted in losses amounting to RM6.1bil, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

       Deputy Environment and Water Minister Datuk Mansor Othman (pic) said the figures by the Statistics Department included losses of homes, vehicles, business premises as well as sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.

       The floods also damaged public infrastructure and Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) infrastructure including riverbank erosion, damage to hydrological structures and water retention ponds, estimated to total RM640mil, he added.

       "To ensure that post-flood work can be carried out immediately, the ministry has coordinated existing internal allocations for repairs to reduce the impact of floods throughout the country.

       "For flood-affected areas that need a comprehensive solution, the ministry will apply for a long-term allocation through the five-year Malaysia Plan.

       "These measures are taken so that every approach to deal with floods can be implemented by taking into account climate change in the planning, design and implementation of projects involving the water and infrastructure sectors," he said during the Question and Answer session in Parliament on Wednesday (March 16).

       He was responding to a question by Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan), who wanted to know the losses suffered by the country due to floods each year and government measures to see that flood prevention allocations are made throughout the country.

       Nga also wanted to know if the Environment and Water Ministry had a master plan for the country to be flood-free.

       Mansor said taking into account the serious north-east monsoon that resulted in major floods in December and January, the Cabinet decided to increase and expedite flood mitigation projects with additional expenditure of RM15bil for 2023 to 2030.

       He said the ministry had also developed a 50-year long-term mitigation plan framework that will begin in phases from 2023 to reduce the impact of floods and the rising sea level.

       "This plan involves flood mitigation projects, urban drainage, construction of sabo works, dams, land acquisition, building a coastal protective structure capable of protecting against rising sea levels, coastal flooding, and storm surges," he said.