LANGKAWI, March 25 – Water capacity at the Bukit Malut dam here is estimated to be sufficient for more than two months, but the government is ready to take additional measures if the hot and dry weather persists. Langkawi MP Datuk Nawawi Ahmad said Taliworks (Langkawi) Sdn Bhd, the company managing the dam, estimated that the capacity was adequate for 69 days.

“If the hot weather continues, we will request for water supply from the mainland to be increased as well as to carry out cloud seeding. The water level at the dam, which supplies 50 per cent of water in Langkawi, dropped from the normal level of 76 metres to 71.38 metres in two months,” he said after visiting the dam Friday.

Nawawi said, however, this level is still significantly higher than the critical level of 53 metres. He said the water level was 69 metres two years ago but it did not affect the water supply. Besides Bukit Malut dam, he added that the remaining 50 per cent of water supply came from Perlis through undersea pipelines.

In SUNGAI PETANI, Kedah health director Datuk Dr Norhizan Ismail said 14 heat related cases were recorded in the state from March 1-23. Dr Norhizan said there were no heatstroke cases and three of the cases involved heat cramps and the rest heat exhaustion.

Five of the cases were in Kota Setar, Langkawi (four), Kulim (three) and Kubang Pasu (two). With Kedah one of the states in the peninsula feeling the full brunt of the El Nino phenomenon with peak temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius, fans and air-conditioners are selling like hot cakes.

Seng Ah Yat, 58, who owns an electrical appliances outlet in ALOR SETAR, told Bernama that he hardly sold a unit of airconditioner a month but now more that five units were flying off his shelves, not to mention fans. A buyer, Mohd Fikri Abd Hassan, 35, said he was willing to fork out more than RM2,000 for an additional airconditioner unit for the comfort of his family due to the “overwhelming heat”.

Pocket News

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