KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Works Department has identified 1,087 high-risk slopes out of 34,400 nationwide that require close monitoring during the upcoming Northeast Monsoon season.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi confirmed the Disaster Operations Room (BiGBen) is actively tracking these slopes using advanced technology including artificial intelligence for disaster preparedness.
He revealed that 1,066 of these risky slopes are located in Peninsular Malaysia, with seven in Sabah, one in Sarawak, and 13 in the federal territory of Labuan.
The BiGBen system provides near real-time monitoring of various disaster incidents including floods, landslides, road subsidence, and bridge damage through district-level JKR officer reports.
This critical information is accessible to agencies like the National Disaster Management Agency, state governments, and district offices while also being available to the public via a mobile application.
Road users can utilise the system to check the status of fully or partially closed roads along with available alternative routes during emergencies.
Regarding recent disasters in Sabah, Nanta confirmed JKR has deployed technical officers to affected areas to provide advisory services following 10 slope collapse incidents along federal roads.
Damage assessment is ongoing with potential funding applications to the Ministry of Finance if internal resources prove insufficient for repair works.
The Works Ministry has prepared 238.7 metres of Bailey bridges stored across seven facilities in Kedah, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Selangor, Perak, and Kelantan for emergency deployment.
Melaka and Terengganu have additionally procured Bailey bridges using their 2025 Malaysian Road Records Information System allocations specifically for disaster preparedness purposes. – Bernama
