Desilting saves Victoria from flooding |07 November 2011

Chief executive Lena Desaubin of the Land Waste Management Agency and the current head of the Land Transport Agency (LTA), Parinda Herath, said this after many roads in the districts were affected by rainfall which reached 248 millimetres along Bois de Rose on Sunday.

“That area got the highest amount of rain yet there was no flooding, while other places which got much less were inundated. It’s simply because of the good drainage in town,” said meteorologist Marcel Belmont.

Mrs Desaubin said her agency has three contractors who unblock the drains every week, adding the LTA has been helping improve the drains so they can take more water.

Mr Herath said the LTA has been busy removing soil, boulders and trees which landed into the drains in the affected districts “which would have made flooding even worse if there was another spell of heavy rain”.