DPM Zahid: Batang Kali landslide due to heavy rainfall, not human activity
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said that the Batang Kali landslide that occurred in December last year was the result of heavy and persistent rainfall, not human factors.
He cited forensic analysis of the incident in a statement following a Central Disaster Management Committee meeting that he chaired.
“In summary, the results of the forensic analysis found that the rainfall event was the main trigger factor as a result of the combination of the amount of major rainfall (major cumulative rainfall) for a period of five days and cumulative antecedent rainfall 30 days before the collapse occurred, which were respectively 118.6mm and 444.8mm.
“This heavy rain caused slope failure resulting in the campsites covering Hill View, Farm View and River Side areas being buried with debris resulting in damage to property and loss of life,” he said.
The investigation did not find strong evidence showing anthropogenic, or pollution and environmental change originating from human activity, components as a contributing factor towards the incident, he added.
The full report can be accessed by the public tomorrow at 10am on the National Disaster Management Agency’s (Nadma) website: www.nadma.gov.my.
The tragic landslide that struck at 2.42am on December 16 killed 31 people including 18 adults and 13 children. The remaining 61 victims out of 92 reported victims survived.
After the landslide, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad reportedly said that the embankment failure involved an area of 500 metres (m) in length, 200 m wide and a depth of 8m, moving approximately 450,000 square metres (sq m) of soil.
