According to Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin, the federal government had to approve this amount to build several mitigation projects to ensure adequate water supply to Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya which would not have been necessary had the project, now 32 months behind schedule, been allowed to proceed as scheduled.He said Langat 2 was planned way back in 2000 based on the findings of experts, who highlighted that the plant, which would treat raw water from Pahang, was the best option in view of the rapid increase in population and industrial development in these regions.
"At the end of the day, you still have to build Langat 2 and yet you still have to spend this additonal cost. This is the result of what is happening today just because the Selangor government did not agree with our proposal, keeps on dragging and dragging until we say, what to do, the people are suffering," he told Bernama in an interview.
Chin also reacted strongly to the Selangor government's stand for opposing Langat 2 in that it was due to it giving more importance on plans to restructure the water industry and dismissing that Langat 2 was merely an operational issue.
"This kind of reasoning is totally without basis whatsoever. You mean while we are having a reserve margin (of water) only two per cent and you are still saying it's an operational issue? With all the treatment plants that we already have, they can only give us two per cent reserve! To me, it's a structural issue. We should have a bigger plant that can give us more water so that our reserve margin will go up and we all can be comfortable about it," he said.
He cited the case of the recent incident in Batu Caves when pipes burst due to heavy rains that disrupted supply to some 500,000 people. It could have been avoided if there was enough reserve that would enable water to be diverted from other areas to other plants to bypass the burst pipes.
"So this two per cent margin is very, very serious..... something you cannot just say is an operational issue," said Chin, who also rubbished allegations by opposition politicians that Selangor's water disruptions were politically motivated.
Chin described such allegations as too wild, and could only come from people with wicked minds.
"Why should we as a government which has run this country for so long do such a thing? Just look at the Barisan Nasional election manifesto where we say we will deliver a much better future for the people. A better future means the people's access to water too", he said.
The minister said if the Selangor government continued to drag its feet on the water issue and block efforts to ensure water security, the higher would be the costs of related projects and it's the tax-payers who would have to bear the costs.
He explained that the most basic issue was lack of raw water sources and no matter what alternative plans the state government would like to counter-propose, it would come to nought if there were no new sources of raw water.
"We will have to bring water from somewhere else because there is not enough raw water sources in Selangor. We already have a plan and agreement of buying water from Pahang, so why are we not going through it?"
Chin reiterated that the Cabinet had decided to go ahead with Langat 2 and the government was now in the final stage of awarding the tender.
"Definitely, we will award it and with or without Selangor government's cooperation we will proceed with this very, very important plant.
"I hope that when the contractor begins construction, there will be no more obstruction because the target date of 2016 is not that far away. Any further delay to the project will result in acute water shortages and more sufferings for the people," he added.
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China quake rescuers battle landslides, debris
LUSHAN: Clogged roads, debris and landslides impeded rescuers Monday as they battled to find survivors of a powerful earthquake in mountainous southwest China that has left at least 188 dead.Huge boulders blocked rescue vehicles along roads leading to some of the worst-hit areas, and some areas were only accessible by foot along broken passes through the rough terrain.
Survivors including the elderly were carried out on the backs of neighbours as well as by helicopter, as rescuers were also bolstered by thousands of civilian volunteers who rushed to the area to help.
State broadcaster CCTV showed orange-suited emergency workers making desperate dashes past cliff-edges, trying to avoid sudden landslides in a region weakened by more than 2,000 aftershocks.
Industrial diggers clawed through debris including the mangled remains of cars and motorbikes crushed by tumbling rocks, to clear roads also clogged by huge queues of traffic.
The 6.6-magnitude quake which hit Sichuan province Saturday has left another 25 missing and more than 11,000 injured, according to state media, while local authorities said some 17,000 families have lost their homes.
Forecasts of rain in the disaster area increased fears of deadly landslides.
"I dare not go anywhere near a mountainside," a woman named Zhu told AFP as she arrived from the devastated village of Baoxing into the centre of the county of Lushan.
"Many people are worried that the rain will bring more devastation," she added.
Another woman told AFP that she left her rural home for the busy town centre in Lushan because she was worried it was not strong enough to withstand more of the aftershocks that have shaken and terrified the region.
Premier Li Keqiang left the quake zone on Sunday, state media reported, after rushing to the area the day before to direct rescue efforts, in his first public test on disaster management since being appointed to the top post in March.
More than 17,000 Chinese soldiers and police have joined the rescue mission and five drones were sent to capture aerial images of the damage, state news agency Xinhua said.
The disaster comes five years after a massive quake in Sichuan which occurred just 200 kilometres from Lushan, and was one of the worst to strike China in decades, leaving 90,000 dead or missing.
The 2008 quake triggered an outpouring of public anger after the discovery that many schools collapsed while other buildings did not, creating suspicions of corruption and shoddy construction.
However, the response on China's Twitter-like weibo sites to Saturday's disaster has overwhelmingly been one of support, with thousands pledging to donate money and others mourning the victims.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences, saying he was deeply saddened by the loss of life, injuries and destruction caused by the earthquake and aftershocks.
Earthquakes frequently strike China's southwest. In April 2010, a 6.9 magnitude quake killed about 2,700 people and injured 12,000 in a remote area of Qinghai province bordering the northwest of Sichuan.
Military called in as deadly floods batter Australia
SYDNEY: Australia ramped up its military response to deadly floodwaters rising in the country's sodden northeast Tuesday which have killed four people and displaced or isolated tens of thousands.Storms triggered by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald have claimed four lives -- the most recent a three-year-old boy killed by a falling tree -- as heavy rains have brought flooding to the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
The sugar farming town of Bundaberg waited anxiously for the swollen Burnett River to peak at a record 9.6 metres, with officials saying some 2,000 homes and 300 businesses were flooded.
Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said about 7,500 residents had been displaced by the floodwaters, with 1,000 people plucked from the roofs of their homes in daring evening rescues after the river broke its banks late on Monday.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman toured Bundaberg from the air and said it was an extraordinary scene, paying tribute to military rescue teams who toiled until midnight using night vision equipment.
"I think the bravery of the air crew and the helicopters, both civilian and defence force who worked all yesterday afternoon and into the night evacuating people in quite difficult circumstances is what saved the day," said Newman.
"We did have a situation of fast-rising floodwaters and people being very rapidly isolated on ever-diminishing islands of ground."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said four military helicopters, 100 troops and two Hercules transport aircraft had been deployed to the emergency, with the evacuation of 131 patients from Bundaberg's hospital to Brisbane a priority.
"We'll also be making available one of the huge aircraft, the C17, to transport equipment that is needed to Bundaberg for the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and for the Queensland Ambulance Service," Gillard said.
There was limited flooding in the state capital Brisbane, home to about two million people, which was brought to a standstill for several days by a huge inundation in 2011 that swamped 30,000 homes and killed more than 30 people.
Brisbane mayor Graham Quirk said some city businesses had been swamped for a second time but there were no reports of homes flooding inside, with the Brisbane River peaking lower than had been forecast.
But the deluge damaged water treatment plants and Newman warned that some of the city's reservoirs could dry up overnight if people didn't restrict their use to drinking, cooking and washing.
Several major mining firms including Xstrata, Anglo American and China's Yancoal said the weather had impacted operations, either halting work at their pits or cutting vital road and rail links.
Insurers had already received some 6,100 claims from Queensland worth Aus$72 million (US$75 million), according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Cyclone Oswald brought wild storms to neighbouring New South Wales overnight, with floodwaters isolating 41,000 people and prompting authorities to order 2,100 people to evacuate from the town of Grafton.
"On Thursday and Friday we were nearly in drought conditions. Here we are on Tuesday morning talking about the biggest flood on the history books," mayor Richie Williamson told reporters at a briefing in Grafton.
Wild weather ripped trees up and brought dangerous surf conditions in Sydney, with waves of up to 10 metres reported.
Military called in as deadly floods batter Australia
SYDNEY: Australia ramped up its military response to deadly floodwaters rising in the country's sodden northeast Tuesday which have killed four people and displaced or isolated tens of thousands.Storms triggered by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald have claimed four lives -- the most recent a three-year-old boy killed by a falling tree -- as heavy rains have brought flooding to the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
The sugar farming town of Bundaberg waited anxiously for the swollen Burnett River to peak at a record 9.6 metres, with officials saying some 2,000 homes and 300 businesses were flooded.
Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said about 7,500 residents had been displaced by the floodwaters, with 1,000 people plucked from the roofs of their homes in daring evening rescues after the river broke its banks late on Monday.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman toured Bundaberg from the air and said it was an extraordinary scene, paying tribute to military rescue teams who toiled until midnight using night vision equipment.
"I think the bravery of the air crew and the helicopters, both civilian and defence force who worked all yesterday afternoon and into the night evacuating people in quite difficult circumstances is what saved the day," said Newman.
"We did have a situation of fast-rising floodwaters and people being very rapidly isolated on ever-diminishing islands of ground."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said four military helicopters, 100 troops and two Hercules transport aircraft had been deployed to the emergency, with the evacuation of 131 patients from Bundaberg's hospital to Brisbane a priority.
"We'll also be making available one of the huge aircraft, the C17, to transport equipment that is needed to Bundaberg for the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and for the Queensland Ambulance Service," Gillard said.
There was limited flooding in the state capital Brisbane, home to about two million people, which was brought to a standstill for several days by a huge inundation in 2011 that swamped 30,000 homes and killed more than 30 people.
Brisbane mayor Graham Quirk said some city businesses had been swamped for a second time but there were no reports of homes flooding inside, with the Brisbane River peaking lower than had been forecast.
But the deluge damaged water treatment plants and Newman warned that some of the city's reservoirs could dry up overnight if people didn't restrict their use to drinking, cooking and washing.
Several major mining firms including Xstrata, Anglo American and China's Yancoal said the weather had impacted operations, either halting work at their pits or cutting vital road and rail links.
Insurers had already received some 6,100 claims from Queensland worth Aus$72 million (US$75 million), according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Cyclone Oswald brought wild storms to neighbouring New South Wales overnight, with floodwaters isolating 41,000 people and prompting authorities to order 2,100 people to evacuate from the town of Grafton.
"On Thursday and Friday we were nearly in drought conditions. Here we are on Tuesday morning talking about the biggest flood on the history books," mayor Richie Williamson told reporters at a briefing in Grafton.
Wild weather ripped trees up and brought dangerous surf conditions in Sydney, with waves of up to 10 metres reported.
Eleven dead as floods swamp central Jakarta
JAKARTA: Floods in this capital city have left at least 11 people dead, authorities said Friday as murky brown waters submerged parts of the business district, causing chaos for a second day.The capital's worst floods in five years have also forced 18,000 people from their homes, the nation's disaster agency said, with many ferried to temporary shelters on rafts.
"Floods are occurring still and since January 15, 11 people have died, five of whom from electrocution," said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Among the dead were two children aged two and 13, said Nugroho, adding that although waters were receding eight per cent of the city was still inundated and a city-wide state of emergency would apply until January 27.
The flooding caused chaos in the upmarket downtown district, causing hours-long traffic jams as motorists struggled to get to work along canal-like streets.
Drivers could be seen standing miserably in raincoats, waiting for their flooded cars to be towed away. Other vehicles lay abandoned by the side of the road.
At the landmark Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, surrounded by office towers, five-star hotels and shopping centres, the brown floodwaters continued to swirl, forcing the nearby British, German and French embassies to remain shut.
The central business district normally escapes damage in Indonesia's monsoonal rains but it was hit by waist-high water Thursday, forcing some commuters to wade their way to work holding bags aloft.
Jakarta, home to 20 million people, is notorious for its traffic-clogged streets, but the floods brought a new dimension to the commute.
"It took me two hours to get to work," said Shinta Maharani, whose home is just seven kilometres from her office. "I had to abandon the motorbike taxi and walk for 40 minutes because the road ahead was submerged."
Many train and bus routes serving the city centre were also suspended.
"The government is trying to keep doing emergency mitigation efforts," the disaster agency spokesman said.
The floods were the worst to hit the capital since 2007, when about 50 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced.
Even the presidential palace was inundated by the waters, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pictured in the grounds Thursday in rolled-up trousers as he ordered officials to ensure public safety.
Authorities raised the flood alert to its highest level Thursday, warning that the torrential rains would not subside until the end of the week.
Indonesia is regularly afflicted by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts around half the year, and many in the capital live beside rivers which periodically overflow.
1000 Armed Forces personnel on standby for flood clean-up
1000 Armed Forces personnel on standby for flood clean-up
KOTA BARU: About 1,000 Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) personnel from three battalions have been ordered to stand by to help clean up public areas after the floodwaters recede in Kelantan and Terengganu.
Eighth Infantry Brigade commander Brig-Gen Datuk Mohamad Zaki Hamzah said the commanding officers of the respective camps had been instructed to identify the areas so that the forces could get to work as soon as the floods subsided.
The armed forces personnel would help clean up such places as mosques, surau and community centres, he told Bernama.
Those who were involved in the ‘Ops Meranti’ and ‘Ops Wawasan’ operations to assist flood victims in Rantau Panjang and Tumpat at the Sungai Golok border of Kelantan, which were among the areas severely hit by the floods, had also been ordered to help in the clean-up.
“We have also deployed our personnel in flood-hit areas in Kemaman, Dungun, Hulu Terengganu and Besut,” he said.
Mohamad Zaki said an integrated action in collaboration with other government agencies, including the Fire and Rescue Department and the Department of Civil Defence (JPAM), would be undertaken where appropriate. -- BERNAMA
Source: MOLE
Floods worsen on East Coast
Floods worsen on East Coast
KUALA LUMPUR: The situation in three East Coast states which are inundated by floods has worsened with the number of victims moved in Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu rising this morning.
According to the official portals of the three states, the latest figure of victims moved was 13,746 people compared to 11,429 last night.
In Kelantan, 4,127 victims were recorded this morning compared to about 3,000 last night and in Pahang, 3,196 people compared to 2,329 last night while in Terengganu, 6,550 compared to 6,100 last night.
The victims in Kelantan comprised 1,171 families who were placed at 43 relief centres including Pasir Mas (2,781 people), Kuala Krai (415), Tanah Merah (296), Kota Baharu (260), Tumpat (80) and Machang (47).
The water level at Sungai Golok in Jenob, Tanah Merah dropped to warning level but the reading of the river at Rantau Panjang still exceeded the danger level.
Sungai Kelantan at the Guillemard Bridge, Tanah Merah was also above the danger level. The water level of other rivers were still at warning mark.
The Free Trade Zone in Rantau Panjang opposite the Sungai Golok was reported to be still under water from the spillover of the river allowing only heavy vehicles to the area.
No major roads were closed to vehicles and no loss of life had been reported in Kelantan to date with the weather downcast and heavy downpour every now and then.
Meanwhile, the number of flood victims continued to rise in Pahang when 2,913 people were moved to 15 relief centres in Kuantan, Rompin and Pekan today.
According to the Pahang Police Contingent Headquarters flood operations room spokesman, as of 9am today, four districts in Pahang were reported to be flooded.
“A total of 206 people from Kampung Cenderawasih, Kalong and Sungai Miang were moved to SK Sinar Mutiara in Pekan while Rompin district also opened one relief centre at the Lentang community hall to accommodate 57 people from the Kampung Perpat relief centre, which was inundated.
“Jerantut is the latest district to record victims being moved to relief centres with 20 flood victims from Kampung Pagi who were placed at the Kampung Pagi mosque,” the spokesman said when contacted by Bernama today.
He said the Sungai Lembing-Kuantan Road was closed to all vehicles at KM16, KM28, KM30 and the Sungai Charu Bridge to Sungai Lembing.
In Terengganu, the state government flood portal reported, to date, that the highest number of flood victims moved was in Hulu Terengganu district (1,499 people), followed by Besut (1,906), Dungun (1,464), Kemaman (982), Kuala Terengganu (807), Setiu (717) and Marang (285).
To date, a total of 104 relief centres were still operating namely in Hulu Terengganu (18), Besut (16), Dungun (18), Kemaman (16), Kuala Terengganu (eight), Setiu (18) and Marang (10).
The portal also reported that all major roads heading to Kota Baharu and Kuantan were now open to all vehicles.
Terengganu recorded its first death from flood yesterday when a woman drowned after she slipped while putting up a net to catch fish with her husband at Sungai Lanjut near the Permaisuri Bridge at 3pm.
Source: MOLE
Philippine camps overflow with homeless typhoon victims
NEW BATAAN: Hundreds of thousands of survivors of a deadly Philippines typhoon crammed into overcrowded shelters Friday, braving the stench of corpses as the government vowed action to prevent storm disasters.Typhoon Bopha, which smashed into the nation's south on Tuesday leaving at least 484 people dead and 383 missing, was the deadliest natural disaster this year in a country that is regularly hit with quakes, floods and volcanic eruptions.
President Benigno Aquino flew into the southern island of Mindanao which bore the brunt of Tuesday's storm, to meet with bruised and grieving survivors who must now rebuild their lives.
"We want to find out why this tragedy happened and how to keep these tragedies from happening again," he told dazed crowds after arriving by helicopter in this town which was mostly obliterated by the storm.
As the president spoke, a yellow excavator tore into the rubble of a row of flattened houses a short distance away, allowing rescue workers to pull out the bodies of two more victims.
Among the 306,000 left homeless by the storm were 2,000 people huddled in a basketball gym, one of only a few buildings left standing in the town which is a centre for the nation's banana and gold mining industries.
With the overpowering stench of decomposing corpses from the parking lot outside, farmer's wife Violy Saging, 38, tried to focus on the needs of her surviving children.
"It (the typhoon) snatched our life away. There is nothing left, but we are hoping our relatives or friends will take us in," she told AFP.
Her eldest son's body was found wrapped around a coconut tree that he had climbed in a vain effort to flee the deluge. The youngest of her three children who survived, a son aged aged three, has a high fever.
The concrete floor of the crowded gym was caked with mud, and part of its roof was blown away by the cyclone, exposing the newly homeless to heavy rain that began pouring again shortly after Aquino left.
Families took turns to sleep on benches around the walls, and the 2,000 occupants had to share the building's two toilet stalls.
The government has appealed for immediate international aid for food, tents, water purification systems and medicine, and warned the homeless face months in evacuation centres before safe places can be found for new homes.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas told reporters during Aquino's visit that more rescue workers, equipment and canine units, capable of sniffing out any people still alive beneath the rubble, were being fielded in the worst-hit areas.
He said the government is also investigating why so many people were killed even when advance warnings were given ahead of the typhoon.
"They should not have built houses there," Roxas said, noting many of the mining areas which are a magnet for the nation's poor had been declared unsafe for habitation due to frequent deadly landslides.
Outside the gym, Medarda Opiso, 47, joined crowds with handkerchiefs pressed to their noses as they gingerly peeled away death shrouds covering faces and bloated bodies laid out on the pavement.
Her son's wife and daughter are among the missing.
"My son is in despair. He is not talking to anyone. I am afraid he will lose it," Opiso said.
The son, farmer Gomer Opiso, had been tending to his crops when the wall of water and debris nearly wiped out the town of 48,000 people.
But amid the despair there were also some poignant reunions.
Lucrecio Panamogan, 74, found his grown children huddled together with their families in a devastated school yard two days after the storm.
"I thought I had lost them," he told AFP, his tears welling up.
"We may no longer have a house, or any possessions, but we still have each other."
Concerns of potential disease outbreak after typhoon Bopha
Concerns of potential disease outbreak after typhoon Bopha
MANILA, Dec 8 (Bernama) — The Philippine government on Saturday urged people in evacuation centres in typhoon ravaged-areas to keep their temporary shelters clean to prevent the spread of diseases, Xinhua news agency reported.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Department of Health (DOH) is doing everything to ensure the health of 212,000 individuals putting up in 291 evacuation centres after being displaced by Typhoon Bopha in southern Philippines.
“The DOH is doing what it can in the evacuation areas to make sure that disease doesn’t spread, but we also need the cooperation of evacuees to keep their areas clean,” she said.
Valte said the cramped condition in evacuations centers could easily cause the outbreak of diseases particularly among young children.
On the possible outbreak of diseases resulting from decomposing dead bodies, Valte said President Benigno S. Aquino III had ordered local government units and national agencies to coordinate efforts in clean up and retrieval operations.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Saturday the latest death toll from the typhoon that hit the country this week has reached 456 with 533 people still missing. BERNAMA
Source: MOLE
