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.

The federal government is the 10th defendant while the other five - the director-general of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, the Meteorological Department’s director-general, the environment and water minister, the Irrigation and Drainage Department director-general - are the first to fifth defendants targeted by the civil suit.

The legal action of the 50 residents also targets the Shah Alam City Council, KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), and the Selangor state government as the sixth to ninth defendants, respectively.

According to a copy of the statement of defence sighted by Malaysiakini, the first to fifth as well as 10th defendants claimed that following floods in December 1995 and March 1996, the federal and state governments had taken steps to implement flood mitigation projects, with the federal government limited to financing the efforts.

In the court document filed to the High Court in Shah Alam on Sept 7, they pointed to the flood retention pond constructed at TSM and the bund built throughout the Klang River, which was maintained by the Selangor Irrigation Department.

They claimed that the flood retention ponds and bund were among the reasonable and appropriate steps undertaken to increase drainage during high tide and prevent water spillover from Klang River, among others.

However, in the 50 residents’ reply filed to the same court, the flood victims contended that the 2021 floods cannot be called “acts of God” as these were due to TSM’s inadequate infrastructure that led to constant flooding since 1995.

The plaintiffs noted that when the 1995 floods happened, authorities explained it as an “unexpected flood” and that when it happened again later (after 1995 and before 2021), the authorities again explained it as a “once in 100 years” occurrence.

“In fact, since 2019, there have been multiple floods every year in TSM. The warning signs are there. Flooding that occurs every other year cannot be categorised as an ‘act of God’.

“Furthermore, TSM’s current infrastructure was unable to cope with the rainfall and was further exacerbated by inefficient warnings and a lacklustre and uncoordinated response by the defendants,” the residents contended.

In relation to the claims that various flood mitigation efforts have been implemented since 1995, the plaintiffs countered that the stated measures were only to address the 1995 floods.

“However, no significant measures in relation to the improvement of the said retention pond and/or the construction of other retention ponds were done at all material times until the said floods.

“The plaintiffs further state that the retention pond did not cater to the current climate and situation and that TSM now had to deal with water from the surrounding areas as well, which includes Kemuning Utara, Kemuning Baru, Kota Kemuning and other upstream areas, due to aggressive development,” the residents claimed.

Counsel V Vemal Arasan represented the 50 residents.

In June, the media reported that the residents filed legal action over the authorities’ alleged negligence and statutory duty breach.

The plaintiffs are seeking special damages amounting to RM3.8 million from the 10 defendants.

They are also asking for general and aggravated damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress and mental anguish.

In their statement of claim, the residents declared that Nadma did not prepare effective rescue measures after the floods.

They alleged there was a National Security Council directive for Nadma to lead, coordinate and carry out post-disaster action.

They also contended that the Meteorological Department failed to issue timely warnings of the impending floods.

The residents claimed they were only alerted two days after the floods, despite the department having allegedly issued a warning to people living on the East Coast.

They alleged that the Irrigation and Drainage Department and the local authorities failed to develop and manage any floods linked to the Klang River.

The residents claimed that local authorities greenlighted too many developments around TSM, one of the worst-affected areas by the floods.

They also alleged that KDEB Waste Management - a wholly owned subsidiary of Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated - failed to properly manage its domestic water collection and public cleaning services.

In their legal action, they also claimed that TNB failed to provide a backup generator at the TSM tidal gates, which caused it to overflow when the existing generator was submerged in flood water.

The matter is set for case management before the Shah Alam High Court on Nov 29.