The Extinction Protocol- 3/28/13
MALAYSIA – Apartment residents claim slow pace of repairs led to second incident. About residents of Pangsapuri Beringin in Puchong, here had to vacate their apartment units yesterday when a nearby hill slope collapsed for the second time this year. The first incident occurred on Feb 19 and residents claimed that repairs were completed late, which resulted in the second landslide about 4.30pm yesterday. They said an official from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council had directed residents of Block B of the apartments to evacuate to a hall nearby. Resident Siti Zaleha Dalli, 38, described this landslide as even worse than the first one. “I was told about the incident at about 4.30pm by my son before I noticed that a large part of the hill slope next to the building had collapsed. I was made to understand that a sewage pipe and a water pipe had burst, which aggravated the situation. The landslide was very near my unit,” said Siti Zaleha, who expressed disappointment at the slow pace of repairs following the first landslide. “When such things happen, we cannot sleep peacefully for fear that our lives may be in danger. If it rains, we will be more worried because the soil will sink.” Another resident, L. Vijayan, 31, also expressed disappointment claiming repairs on the temporary retaining wall were a short-term solution. “About 2am, I came to learn that there was a burst pipe. It was raining heavily then, but I did not expect the situation to turn this bad because I thought the temporary retaining wall could sustain the pressure.” A check revealed that a section of the landslide had affected the back of a row of terrace-houses located near Block B. Assistant Director of Operations of the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Mohd Sani Harul said there were no casualties. The cause of the incident was still being investigated. Bernama. –NST
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