WITH the tragedy of a lady being swallowed by a sinkhole at Jalan Masjid making headlines lately, it is unsurprising that fellow Malaysians are wary of the fact that the very ground could give way under them.

The development of sinkholes in Kuala Lumpur is no longer news, with many occurrences happening since 1968.

A case study made by Universiti Teknologi MARA faculty of architecture, however, has surfaced in a comment on a X post by Mag, making many pertinent points regarding the situation.

The case study went on to classify the Kuala Lumpur area into two different geological formations, namely Kenny Hill Formation which consists of sedimentary rocks and Kuala Lumpur Limestone Formation with its famous highly erratic karstic constituents.

Based on prior research, sinkholes only form in areas with limestone bedrock. Their occurrence is typically associated with high rainfall and fluctuations in groundwater levels in these limestone regions.

Over the past 158 years of rapid development and uncontrolled land use planning, specific changes in topography and geomorphology have occurred, including the formation of sinkholes.

In urban areas like Kuala Lumpur and Ampang City, industrial and development activities have accelerated the formation of sinkholes.

The researchers said that surface overburden, such as ex-mining retention ponds, buildings, heavy traffic, and fluctuations in the groundwater table, can trigger the sinkhole process.

Kuala Lumpur and Ampang City are primarily situated on the Kuala Lumpur Limestone Formation.

They went on to provide a hazard map which showed the potentially very high risk sinkhole areas, namely Jinjang, Kepong, Ampang and Pandan Jaya.

Comparing it to the actual places where sinkholes occurred, the study claimed that the hazard map had an alarming accuracy rate of 76%.

Netizens also chipped in to give their expertise and historical knowledge with regards to the Kuala Lumpur area.

According to one netizen, Jinjang was a mining area. He went on to explain that the original name of Jinjang was Jin (gold) and Jiang (river).

Syarol Kye added that a long time ago, it was not allowed to develop high rise projects at the Ampang and Pandan area, hence most of the residences being landed or low rise. 

He was unsure about the reason but now this was allowable. Many high rise developments have since been built after 2010.

Another netizen commented that the homes near TTDI, Mont Kiara, Hartamas and Bukit Tunku were all expensive.

This is likely due to the fact that they were sitting atop Kenny Hills and not on limestone like the rest in Kuala Lumpur. - Aug 25, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/case-study-by-researchers-reveal-high-risk-areas-for-sinkhole-occurrence/