Authorities are ensuring more concerted and coordinated efforts this time

PETALING JAYA: The Department of Meteorology’s (MetMalaysia) warning of five days of continuous rain in some states has brought back memories of the horrific Klang Valley floods in 2021, but officials say they are better prepared this time.

National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) director-general Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said this involves better communication and coordination and mobilization of all assets to ensure the safety and survival of affected residents during the northeast monsoon season.

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He added that as the northeast monsoon is expected to last till March next year, all government institutions are on standby and personnel and assets are ready to be deployed at any time.

He said this was not only to combat floods but also to combat soil movement events such as landslides.

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MetMalaysia has issued a continuous rain warning for Terengganu, Kelantan (Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Tanah Merah, Bachok, Machang and Pasir Puteh) and Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) from 19 to 23 November.

In the statement made yesterday, it was stated that the same weather conditions were expected in Segamat, Kluang, Mersing, Kulai, Kota Tinggi and Johor Baru in Johor.

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Three days of persistent downpours in the third week of December three years ago flooded much of the Klang Valley, killing 48 people, evacuating thousands of people and damaging homes and furniture in many areas in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and parts of Pahang.

Nadma’s Khairul says it won’t be the same this time.

“Not only will Nadma, along with all other agencies, intervene, but we have also put in place mechanisms to be proactive in our guidelines for all agencies managing national disasters.

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“This time, policies and mechanisms for dealing with national disasters will be more (holistic) and inclusive, especially with recent improvements in the roles and responsibilities of Nadma, ministries and institutions, as well as more coordinated management of information.

“Our disaster geospatial management information system, which allows us to monitor all situations simultaneously, is fully operational with a trial run in September,” he said.

“Using this system, our control panel alerts us as soon as a disaster occurs.

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“We have also developed the disaster alert SOP (standard operating procedure) and improved our mechanisms to ensure our response is timely – for example, the activation, reporting and communication of on-scene checkpoints, known as PKTK, and disaster control operations centers, known as PKOB, as these are operational when disaster strikes.” “These are the vital points we will show,” he added.

Khairul said 82,794 personnel as well as 2,031 speedboats, 1,399 four-wheel drive engines, 1,646 trucks and 31 helicopters are ready across the country.

“This does not include the many volunteers and assets that assist us during our operations.

“The Ministry of Health personnel are also ready with 44 medical teams and 53 medical teams across the country,” he said.

“All these people and assets can be deployed at any time in the event of floods or landslides.”

Caring for victims will also be a priority.

“We prepared 5,063 schools, 389 community centers, 572 mosques and city walls, and 2,457 community centers (as flood relief centers) for flood victims who needed to be evacuated. These places can accommodate more than two million people,” Khairul said.

He added that a special warning system funded by telecommunication companies has been created for early flood warning announcements through SMS alerts.

Nadma worked with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, MetMalaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and telecommunications companies to create a messaging system for people in high-risk areas.

The telcos involved are CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, TM/Webe, YTL, TIME dotCom, DNB, XOX (Celcom Network), Tune Talk, redONE Network, BeONE Network (Celcom Network) and Valyou/HelloSim Network (Celcom Network) ).

“All telcos have agreed to fully bear the cost of SMS alerts as part of their corporate social responsibility,” Khairul said.

It’s not just the northeast monsoon that’s disrupting the weather – MetMalaysia said the La Nina phenomenon is expected to bring five to seven monsoons with periods of sustained rain, especially along the southern and western east coasts of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak as well as the north and east of Sabah.

Khairul said that if the monsoon rains are strong or there is a low pressure system in the region, continuous rain will also occur in the peninsular states on the west coast.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Works Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the Public Works Department (JKR) under his ministry is working closely with Nadma to reduce floods and control soil movements during the northeast monsoon.

“We are currently investigating a solution based on flood mitigation technology for testing and demonstration on selected federal roads; One of the test and demonstration areas selected and approved for the proof of concept is FT189, Besut district, Kuala Terengganu.

“We have also developed the e-Disaster mobile application, an integrated platform that provides access and convenience to users to check the status of roads and affected locations, helping to plan travel more safely and efficiently, especially during the northeast monsoon season.” he added.

Nanta also said JKR had spent RM104.84 million on slope repair works at 147 locations along federal roads in Peninsular Malaysia as of September.

“We are providing technical consultancy along with machinery and technical services to Nadma on assessing damage to public infrastructure and implementing mitigating measures to reduce slope disaster risks,” he said.

He added that JKR has also stepped up drainage and road congestion clearance work by road maintenance concessionaires and has also activated disaster operation rooms using JKR assets.