2021 Taman Sri Muda floods 'acts of God', says federal govt

The federal government and five others described the flood that hit Taman Sri Muda (TSM) in December last year as “acts of God”.

In their statement of defence against a lawsuit by 50 flood victims from the major Shah Alam township in Selangor, the six defendants contended that reasonable efforts have been made to mitigate the risk of floods.

“The defendants state that the flooding that occurred at TSM in December 2021 were caused by elements described as ‘acts of God’.

“The floods that took place were caused by continuous heavy rain during the material time throughout Selangor, the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, which were influenced by three factors, namely Typhoon Rai, the monsoon season (luruan monsun), and low-pressure system from the South China Sea that entered the peninsula via Pahang and crossed the mid-peninsula towards the Straits of Malacca.

“The situation was one outside the control of humans. At the same time, there also occurred high tide phenomena beginning Dec 16, 2021, until Dec 23, 2021, causing high water level at the Klang River due to intake of water from the river,” the six defendants contended.