We think we can put in place all sorts of fancy flood mitigation ‘marvels’ to keep us from being swamped. But what if it is our model of development – concrete (mega-property centric development) and tar (extensive highways and parking) all over the place – and climate change that are aggravating the situation?
We think we can ignore Nature and ride roughshod over it with some of our ill-conceived “development” projects. But Nature has a way of striking back when we least expect it.
Not so smart of us, eh?
From the Smart Tunnel website:
What is SMART?
SMART is an acronym for Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel, a project under the Federal Government initiated to alleviate the flooding problem in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The project is implemented through a joint venture pact between MMC Corp Berhad and Gamuda Berhad with the Department of Irrigation And Drainage Malaysia and the Malaysian Highway Authority as the executing government agencies.
Studies had indicated that the critical stretch of Sungai Klang between Sg Klang /Sg Ampang confluence and Sg Gombak/ Sg Klang confluence to be flood prone areas and the fact that the river is further constrained by the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge (near Masjid Jamek) which is low, has resulted in the surrounding areas to experience flash floods.
The SMART system will be able to divert large volumes of flood water from entering this critical stretch via a holding pond, bypass tunnel and storage reservoir. This will reduce the flood water level at the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge, preventing spillover.
Other benefits of SMART
The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project was incepted by the project proponent, namely MMC Corp Berhad-Gamuda Berhad Joint Venture, primarily to mitigate the recurring floods in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the financial, business and commercial hub of Malaysia. However, at the design stage of SMART, the dual purpose concept was born from the ingenuity of the project proponents and the motorway tunnel was integrated into the system to relieve traffic congestion at the main Southern Gateway to the city centre.
This report from Bernama:
SMART tunnel not opened immediately due to safety factor
KUALA LUMPUR: As a precautionary measure following the uncertain weather, the SMART tunnel was not immediately opened to traffic after the major flash floods in the Klang Valley last week.
There was as much as three million cubic metres of water recorded in both tunnels during the floods, breaching its maximum level for the first time since opening in 2007, said Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mohd Fuad Kamal Ariffin.
The company took six hours to drain the floodwaters, Mohd Fuad added.
Even then, he said, the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) had advised against opening the tunnel as there were signs of continuing rain.
Heavy rain and thunderstorm hit Klang Valley last Wednesday, causing flash floods in several areas in the federal capital, with one death reported.
Following the floods, the tunnel was closed for four days, incurring the wrath of motorists as the city was caught in a massive traffic congestion.
It was re-opened at 2am yesterday.
Mohd Fuad said the closure of both tunnels had to be done to save the whole of Kuala Lumpur from being flooded.
He said even though the SMART tunnel was an alternative route for road users, its primary purpose was to channel floodwaters out of the city.
He added that they had prepared a contingency plan to overcome any delay in re-opening the tunnel should similar flooding occur in the future. — Bernama
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Saya berharap kerajaan membuat kajian tentang hulu hulu sungai contoh nya pahang di buat kajian larangan tentang pembalakan dan pertanian yang tak terancang malaysia maseh bergantung pada sungai untok minuman.pencemaran air pada sungai itu zon saperti hulu tembeling serta anak nya sg tekai .sungai jelai serta anak nya sungai telom ,sungai jelai kecil ,sungai lipis(liang dan dong) sungei tanum ,dan kechau.Juga sungai semantan serta anak nya (klau,bentong dan benus)pembukaan tanah yang tidak terancang pada pertanian dihulu hulu sungai tersebut perlu di jaga sebagai warisan kerana sumber air itu amat penting walau pon Pahang mempunyai sungai yang banyak dan besar di… Read more »
Non flood flow measured at Jambatan Sulaiman according to JPS Report 2004 by Ir Keizul, (Ex Director General, JPS) is 710 cubic meters per second, not 938 cubic meters per second. I apologize for that mistake. According to the same report, the biggest flood due to localized storm waters for SMART tunnel protected flood plain that has return period once in 50 years is 910 cubic meters per second, assuming Klang Gates contributing at 105 cubic meters per second for this cumulative flood flow. It is essential to keep flood level at Jambatan Sulaiman so that its flow shall be… Read more »
“There was as much as three million cubic metres of water recorded in both tunnels during the floods, breaching its maximum level for the first time since opening in 2007, said Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mohd Fuad Kamal Ariffin” If you limit the tunnel to take 2.75million cubic meters of flood water permanently by sealing off all the road tunnel flood gates, you don’t have to shut down the tunnel during flood control operation. At least the tunnel can be appreciated to make one function correct, i.e. to ease traffic congestion. Based on your… Read more »
Smart tunnel failed us again! If you pay your visit here most likely that tunnel failed us again. I would say the tunnel will fail again and again over the next 30 years or so. I’m not the tunnel’s fan anyway. But I would like the emphasize that it is not the tunnel that failed us. It is its Standard Operating Procedure that does not reflect the spirit of the tunnel design. Before I proceed let me correct some misconceptions about the tunnel in particular its coverage areas. Coverage areas for the tunnel includes near Ampang and about says 10-20… Read more »
“We have bigger houses but smaller families: We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgement; more experts but more problems; more medicines, but less healthiness. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but we have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we have less communication. We have become long on quantity but short on quality. These are times of fast foods, but slow digestion; tall man, but short character; steep profits, but shallow relationships. It… Read more »
Penang Island actually was a good place to live a balanced life. Not too much frenzy development, few automobiles, few Kia Su mentality, affordable standard of living & nice neighborliness in diversity. The greenery was everywhere, places for leisure & relaxation after a hard day’s work within reach, and kopitiams were social networking rendezvous without the disturbing noisy soapy episodes on TVs of the 90’s. And food was good at street level service. Earning a living was more concerned with getting 3 adequate meals for the family and a nice home to live in (whether rented or bought, but more… Read more »
A couple of residents’ associaton reps. tried to hours to call up Smart and ask about activating the stormwater tunnel – for hours in vain. Till today, there is no explanation for the dalay – so much for the “caring society”. This is nothing unusual in Bolehland. As long as politics and bigotry interferes with the proper supervision of staff including punishment, we will continue to go backwards compared to neighbouring countries, even as we are surrounded by more superstructures and megaprojects built at our expense.
Talking about civil service, there was a TNB blackout in Farlim yesterday. Several traffic lights at busy junctions were knocked out rendering the main & busy traffic junction like ‘cowboy’s’ car rodeo. Not a single traffic policeman was in sight to direct the chaotic traffic for 4 hours! And we have a police station and police personnel quarters (2) in the area. Are they ‘work-free’ on this sleepy afternoon?
At least the firemen were hard at work at the TNB station.
A very impressive video presentation and now a very basic question.
Did it eliminate the flooding problem?
Between February 28 and March 7, for the first time in almost a decade, sky-watchers were able to see all five naked-eye planets over the course of one night for several nights in a row. The classical naked-eye planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—can be seen easily without optical aids and so have been known since ancient times. But the quintet hasn’t appeared together during a single night since 2004. What’s more, this parade of planets was joined in the nighttime skies by the waxing crescent to waxing gibbous moon and the superbright stars Sirius and Canopus. The cumulative gravity… Read more »
On March 7, the tidal coefficient recorded was 106(very high). (SOURCE: http://www.tides4fishing.com/as/malaysia/pulau-pinang)
Scientists do not believe that the cumulative gravity of the 5 planets plus moon will ever caused a powerful tides. Is it coincidence or the assumption made by scientists in their calculation is wrong?
In the year 2000 Dr M commissioned a group of foreign to come out with Low Impact Development (LID) guideline which is called the Manual Saliran Mesra Alam (MSMA). But to the surprise of me, the SMART tunnel which totally go against the concept of LID was recommended as the ultimate solution. The smart tunnel is a conventional solution. Conventional storm water management techniques direct all of the storm water to storm drains to remove it from the site as quickly as possible. End-of-pipe facilities are typically designed to store and detain runoff to reduce peak flows for storm events… Read more »
In Urban AREAS, What can UNMNO do? More parks? More detention ponds? They are GOLD mine where they can exchange with the developers. Even the main2 padang, MCA build their centres and refuse treturn the community hall keys. Anyway, SMART was built due to Kutty. The STAR LRT’s station in Mountbatten Road has a pier which constrict the waterway of Klang River and make the Lower Ampang (Lebuh Ampang and Masjid India) flood prone. No need for flood experts if the Sg Klang Waterway in that area is reduced. So what achievement can ex-MCA boast? Throwing money on misplanned projects… Read more »
Malaysia never controlled our developers who chopped every tree, took every padang, steamrolled every park, obliterated every kawasan lapang and stole every blade of grass to build a very very concrete jungle squeezing us all in one spot with no public transport….
Those who lived through the 50s, 60s and 70s had it best….Malaysia today is not a green haven we once had in our cities…..and more expensive and not so smart tunnels would have to built as we keep drowning in the watery nightmare of our own creation…
Man has no respect for creation calling it evolution by all measures of known science. But this instance of drowned smart tunnel has turn us Mankind into a……… comes torrential rain. Never underestimate Nature, a part of creation which breathes and has intelligent feeling as much as us. Is this monkey business of smart tunnel born of accidental evolution from monkeys anymore smarter, now that Nature has shown its brute force to debunk its claim to higher intelligence of accidental design? Anyway, this smart design fiasco has shown the smartness of big spender projects by Barang Naiki without any brain… Read more »
Smart tunnel design is under estimate the forces of nature like in Thailand and its coverage area is limited to city center. Ampang and outskirt areas are excluded.
BN is happily to build more billion dollars SMART projects.
SMART turn to STRAM. ：-p
Anyway, it is a “smart” project to somebody pocket, stram to the nature and city. Where the hell the water going when you have huge concrete all the way preventing rain water sipping into the ground.
ROFL.
We get what we ask for – quick, convenience & ASAP everything. But just ‘be prepared’ like the scout’s motto for Nature’s wrath of hitting back. FYI, do you know that the last 35 years (1977 – Mar. 2011) have seen 164 earthquakes of Mag.> 6.99 compared to the period 1863 – 1900 of only 12 earthquakes? That’s more than 13.66 times the frequency!!! Something must be wrong within planet earth yet we just live like in the days of Sodom & Gomorrah. We are the only living species with higher intelligence and technology mastery to make or break this… Read more »