KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor government has identified more than 150 high-risk slopes that could possibly trigger landslides, especially around Gombak, Ampang and Hulu Langat.

       State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Ir Izham Hashim said the identified slopes have become unstable due to excessive rainfall.

       A majority of these slopes were identified as high risk just after the state was hit by massive floods last December.

       "We have asked the Public Works Department and the Department of Minerals and Geosciences to conduct more extensive monitoring and with current technology, landslide incidents like this can be minimised,” he told reporters here when met at the scene of yesterday’s landslide at Taman Bukit Permai 2 in Ampang.

       On yesterday’s landslide, which claimed four lives, Izham said the area had not been on the high-risk slope list.

       "Usually when there is a landslide, there will be signals (indication) such as cracks and some rubble but in the incident at Taman Bukit Permai 2, there was no indication whatsoever, and it happened suddenly,” he said on Friday (March 11).

       Meanwhile, Izham ruled out that the rockfall incident near the Intan flats, Taman Bukit Permai, on March 9 was an early indication of yesterday’s landslide.

       He said the rockfall incident took place some four kilometres away from the site of yesterday’s tragedy.

       "Just like this landslide in Taman Bukit Permai 2, there were no early signs of cracks (in the rockfall incident). - Bernama