The Sepang Municipal Council ordered the evacuation of all residents of Block 5 of the Taman Permata Dengkil flats after checks found the building unsafeposed a serious danger because of massive cracks. The Sepang Municipal Council ordered the residents to move out on Tuesday evening after thorough checks by council officers on the building found out that the cracks could pose a serious danger to them.DENGKIL 12 JUNE 2013. Penduduk diminta mengosongkan rumah di Blok 5 Flat Taman Permata, Dengkil.
Experts deem building safe after thorough evaluation
SEPANG: MORE than 250 families living in Block B of the Taman Permata Dengkil flats were temporarily evacuated for two days after the building was deemed unsafe.
They were moved to the Dengkil multipurpose hall on Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure by local authorities.
However, they were allowed to go home yesterday after the Sepang Municipal Council assured them the building was still safe.
Sepang Council president Mohd Sayuthi Bakar said the temporary evacuation was done because they feared for the residents' safety.
"We are not experts and we felt that their safety was more important, which is why we evacuated them," he said, adding residents were allowed to return following discussions between experts from the Public Works Department and the Malaysian Public Works Institute (Ikram), which determined that the structure of the building was strong and the foundation solid.
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"We allowed the residents to move back into their units. However, we will monitor the building every week for the time being to ensure there are no other structural issues."
Sayuthi added the council would carry out necessary repair works to the building after cracks were found.
Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said the ministry had engaged district engineers to carry out a formal investigation.
"The experts will advise us on what measures to be undertaken."
Dengkil assemblyman Shahrum Mohd Sharif said assistance would be given to residents should they face further complications.
The residents had initially claimed to have received no help despite repeated requests about their problems, which included soil settlement and movement, cracked walls and clogged drains.
The former workers of the Sedgeley, Medingly, Prang Besar and Galloway estates said their health and safety were at risk.
One resident, N. Kumaran, 43, said the cracks started from the pillars of the building and began affected the walls within their units.
"The families here moved to the flats in 1999 and the cracks started to get worse two years later.
"We had spoken to the authorities about this issue many times but no action was taken," he said yesterday.
Another resident, K. Ramadas, 53, said prior to the evacuation, he had felt tremors and claimed part of the building's roof had collapsed due to the cracks.
He claimed soil movement under the building allowed rodents and even dogs to scurry around under it.
He hoped the authorities would take swift action to address the problems.
