THE 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 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 and Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) infrastructure causing river bank erosion, damage to hydrological structures and water retention ponds estimated at RM640mil, he said.

       “To ensure post-flood works can be done immediately, the ministry has coordinated existing internal allocation for repair works to reduce the impact of floods nationwide.

       “For flood-affected areas that need a comprehensive solution, the ministry will apply for a long-term allocation through the Five Year Malaysia Plan under the ministry.

       “These measures are taken so that every structural and non-structural approach to deal with floods can be implemented by taking into account the factors of climate change in the planning, design and implementation of projects involving the water and infrastructure sectors,” he said during the Question and Answer session yesterday.

       This was in response to a question by Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan) who wanted to know the amount of losses suffered by the country due to floods each year and measures being taken by the government to ensure allocations are provided to prevent floods throughout the country.

       Nga also wanted to know whether the Environment and Water Ministry had a master plan for the country to be free from floods.

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

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