Photo: Amalor Jihem
KUCHING: The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas yesterday visited the Watch Tower and Telaga Tubes in Miri in preparation for the coming dry season.
The tower which was completed in December 2010 with a cost of RM345,720 can be used to survey the area within 15 kilometer of Kuala Baram to detect peat swamp forest fire for immediate action by the fire department and also the relevant agencies.
Fourteen units of tube well were constructed in 2009 with 10 of them in Kuala Baram-Miri, two in Banting-Sri Aman, and another two in Pelan-Mukah, with the capacity of 50 cubic meter per hour and depth of 30 to 150 meters with a total cost of RM3.7 million including maintenance work.
The tube wells are extremely effective in preventing peat swamp fires because they can block the underground fire from spreading by dumping dry peat soils, as well as filling the water into trenches for dumping the soil, especially after seven consecutive days without rain.
Miri has experienced serious forest fires in January 2013, February 2014, March 2015 and April 2016.
Also present were Minister of Utilities Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin and other distinguished guests.
