KUALA LUMPUR: With the appearance of a sinkhole in the city centre yesterday, a geologist has warned of more such occurrences due to the soil structure in the Klang Valley.
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu marine geoscience lecturer, Dr Nor Bakhiah Baharim, told theSun that most parts of Kuala Lumpur are underlined by limestone.
She pointed out that water pipes placed underground, especially in limestone areas, should be of high-quality material to avoid any leakage or pipe bursts.
“Limestone reacts more actively with water. The water from the burst pipe probably caused it to become fragile and collapse into a sinkhole,” said Nor Bakhiah.
“This is opposed to granite, which is more durable. So as long as roads are built on limestone and they are exposed to water, there are risks of sinkholes.”
Nor Bakhiah said the relevant authorities should conduct a geological survey on roads in the city to prevent accidents from occurring. As of yesterday, three sinkholes had surfaced in the city centre.
The first sinkhole appeared on Sunday at Jalan Maharajalela heading towards Jalan Loke Yew. The second appeared at Jalan Pinang the following day. Yesterday, another sinkhole surfaced at Jalan Dewan Bahasa Pustaka on the stretch heading to the Loke Yew and Hang Tuah traffic light intersection.
The sinkholes were caused by burst underground water pipes.
