JOHOR BAHRU (Jan 12): A total of 42 residents from 12 houses in Jalan Bukit Kempas 1/4, Taman Bukit Kempas here were ordered to vacate their homes after a landslide occurred in their residential area.

Larkin Fire station operations commander deputy fire officer 1 Suhaimi Jamal said that the station received a report of the incident, which was believed to have been caused by a leaking pipe from a tank owned by Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd at 6.37am yesterday.

“Following the report, an inspection was conducted and a leaking eight inch pipe was found near the road shoulder.

“As such, the fire and rescue department had to order residents near the landslide to vacate their homes to avoid untoward incidents,” he said when contacted here yesterday.

He said that the landslide was only 10 metres from the residential area and clean up work was being conducted by the Johor Bahru city council and Ranhill SAJ.

“At the same time, other agencies, including Tenaga Nasional Bhd and the Public Works Department were also informed about the incident to enable them to take further action.

“We have also ordered tree felling work conducted in the area to be temporarily halted to ensure no water flow occurs in the area,” he said.

Meanwhile, in KOTA TINGGI, another landslide was reported to have occurred in a residential area in Bukit Pelali, Pengerang, early this morning.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department zone 2 chief Al Hasra Mohamed said that the department received a report at 8.40am regarding the landslide in the area.

“Upon arrival, we discovered a landslide had occurred at a height of around 50 metres, involving two unoccupied houses. ‘Alhamdulillah’ (praise be to Allah), no casualties reported,” he told reporters here today.

Al Hasra said that the department then put up markers to check on soil movement and cordoned off the area to ensure outsiders could not enter the affected area.

He said the landslide was believed to have been caused by continuous heavy rain in the district since Jan 1.