HULU TERENGGANU – There were no illegal logging activities near Tasik Kenyir that could have caused Sunday’s major flood devastation, said the Terengganu Forestry Department.
Its director Roslan Rani refuted allegations by certain quarters, including netizens who shared false and unverified information about the flood on social media.
“Based on information from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the severity of the flood was caused by a landslide which occurred near the Sultan Mahmud Power Station (SJSM) in Kenyir) on Sunday.
The rubbish, dried leaves, fallen logs and debris all gathered at the bottom of the river, giving the public the wrong impression of illegal logging,” he said, dismissing the allegations on social media.
He said this yesterday, after he inspected the landslide area around Jenagor Dam and Tasik Kenyir together with State Tourism, Culture and Digital Technology committee chairman, Ariffin Deraman and TNB representatives.
When asked about the department’s remedial plans, he said they will be sending a drone to photograph the landslide for a clearer picture and the exact location coordinates, before they mobilise any support.
“We will map out the sites first before any further action can be taken to curb future incidents,” he said.
Yesterday, TNB in a statement said SJSM’s operations were temporarily closed from last Sunday due to the damage of the high voltage transmission tower at the site.The unusual heavy rain since last Friday resulted in a landslide that also cut off access road to SJSM at 4am the same day.
Following that, TNB immediately stopped SJSM’s operations but assured that electricity supply to consumers in the East Coast will not be affected.The 400 megawatt system will be supplemented by electric from other sources through the National Grid system.
Source: NEW STRAITS TIMES
