KUALA LUMPUR – The landslide tragedy which claimed 16 lives at an orphanage in Hulu Langat recently has caused Malaysians to recall similar hillside tragedies, especially the Highland Towers disaster in Hulu Klang, in which 48 lives were lost when one of three blocks of the Highland Towers apartments collapsed on 11 Dec 1993.
On 30 June 1995, 21 people were killed and 23 others injured in a landslide on a slip road in Genting Highlands. The following year, a landslide occurred on New Year’s Day in Bandar Baru Selayang, causing a part of Jalan 3/11 Persiaran Tiga to cave in. The incident took place close to residential flats occupied by 130 families, but no one was injured.
Other major landslides include:
- 25 Dec 1997 – at Km17 of the Ampang-Hulu Klang Highway in Selangor, which claimed three lives.
- 15 May 1999 – along a 100-metre stretch in the Bukit Antarabangsa and Wangsa Ukay housing estates in Jalan Hulu Klang, temporarily cutting off residents from getting out of the housing area. A four-year-old child was reported killed.
- 2 Nov 2002 – bungalow in Taman Hillview, Hulu Klang, owned by former Chief of Defence Forces Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Ismail Omar. His wife, Puan SriAzizah Abdul Aziz, their son Hijaz, two in-laws, two grandchildren and an Indonesian maid were killed.
- 31 May 2006 – 49 houses in Kampung Pasir, Hulu Klang, were destroyed and four in a family were killed.
- 30 Nov 2008 – sisters Noratirah Roslan, 16, and Nurul Intan Sarina, nine, were killed when a landslide destroyed their home, a bungalow in Ulu Yam Perdana, Hulu Selangor.
- 6 Dec 2008 – Taman Bukit Mewah, Bukit Antarabangsa, Ampang, where 14 bungalows were destroyed and five people were killed.
- 29 Jan 2011 – Sandakan, where two people were killed.
CJMY
Rob Thomas
