Sheda Kuching advisor concerns over proposed flood-prone areas portal, may affect house prices

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By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, July 4: Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) Kuching branch advisor Dato Sim Kiang Chiok has stated that a proposed portal, which aims to map flood-prone areas before buyers purchase homes, may have an impact on homeowners, new purchasers, and developers alike.

He highlighted that existing homeowners living in the identified flood zones may struggle to sell their properties and see a drop in property values as potential buyers avoid homes listed as flood-prone.

“These homeowners will be trapped, unable to sell their houses to escape from the flood-prone areas,” he said in a press statement issued today.

Sim went on to say that the identification of flood-prone areas presents another set of challenges for landowners and developers.

“The inability to fully develop areas identified as flood-prone is a concern. However, with proper earth-filling works, it may be possible to raise the land above flood levels, making development feasible.

“Nevertheless, being listed as a flood-prone area might create a negative stigma, making it difficult to attract market interest for new developments in these areas,” he remarked.

Sim proposed that the government should instead focus on implementing comprehensive flood mitigation measures.

“These could include increasing the maintenance and clearing of existing drains, constructing more discharge outlets into rivers or seas through storm mitigation methods, using dry ponds to slow down rain discharge, and building larger drains with controlled discharge,” he added.

According to a report from Free Malaysia Today (FMT), house buyers will soon have the option of checking a portal that maps out flood-prone areas before purchasing their homes.

Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Fadillah Yusof announced that the portal is expected to be accessible to the public by the end of 2024.

He mentioned that his ministry, through the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID), has been developing this portal to provide information on flood-prone areas nationwide. — DayakDaily

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