Electric New Paper 19 Dec 07;
FOUR days from now the waters are expected to rise.
How high will it be?
That is their worry. Malaysian authorities have warned people living in towns near river estuaries along the east coast about high tides on 21 Dec.
The people in these towns are already reeling under the effects of heavy rain and floods.
The New Straits Times reported that preparations are being made anticipating a worsening scenario on Friday. This includes possible evacuation and strengthening relief supply lines for food and essential items.
The high tide is expected to aggravate the floods, especially in some of the towns which had been inundated with water, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday.
'We are all prepared for the high tide on 21 Dec which may cause more floods in areas near the river estuaries,' he said when met at the flood relief centre in Lepar, near Kuantan on Sunday.
'Although floodwaters in some areas seem to be subsiding, we do not expect it to recede as fast as expected, especially in the worst affected places,' he said.
He said the biggest threat was from a huge body of water trapped upstream following heavy rains.
'That is our main worry because once the water starts to flow downstream and coupled with the sea's high-tide effect, it could aggravate the floods.'
He, however, expressed confidence that government agencies tasked with the relief operation were fully prepared for any eventuality.
'I can see that the relief operations have been carried out smoothly.
'There were problems in areas that have been cut off by floods but we managed to send relief supplies using army vehicles, boats and helicopters.'
He said Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob was co-ordinating relief supply operations and had made Kuantan the supply hub.
'Armed forces personnel will do their part in distributing the supplies,' added MrNajib, who is also the defence minister.
DAM BURST
Meanwhile, floods in Malaysia's north-eastern Kelantan state worsened after a dam burst in southern Thailand.
Mr Najib said water levels at the Golok river, which marks the boundary between Malaysia and Thailand, rose above the danger level of nine metres to 10.51 metres.
'I was told the broken dam has caused a higher volume of water to enter Golok river and move towards Rantau Panjang and other adjacent areas,' he was quoted saying on The Star newspaper's website.
The official Bernama news agency reported that among the latest victims was a six-year-old girl who fell into flood waters while playing in the backyard of her family home in Kelantan.
It reported the number of flood evacuees in Kelantan rose sharply to 6,039 yesterday from 3,772 the previous day, while in central Pahang state 21,699 were being housed in relief centres.
But in southern Johor state flood conditions improved steadily, with 3,500 people remaining in relief centres after the weekend, compared with almost 5,000 last week.
The floods have so far claimed 25 lives in the past two weeks in Kelantan and two other eastern states said an official at the Malaysian Control Center, which coordinates flood operations nationwide.
At least one other person was missing in Kelantan, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing protocol.
Malaysia has increased flood mitigation efforts after one of its worst periods of monsoon flooding last year, in which it suffered estimated losses of 1.2 billion ringgit ($500m).
On complaints by some flood victims that they had not received food supplies, MrNajib said the problem arose mainly among those who refused to move to relief centres despite being ordered to do so.
'There are no problems at the relief centres.
'Nonetheless, I have directed that food and other supplies be delivered to these people even if they refuse to move out from their homes,' he said.
Flood havoc in the region: High tide chaos looms
Straits Times 19 Dec 07;
# In Malaysia: 27 dead, 33,000 people evacuated
# In Indonesia: Flood waters reach 1.5m, 2,000 evacuated
# In Thailand: 2 dead, 150 schools closed, 900 evacuated
By Salim Osman, Indonesia Correspondent in Jakarta & Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief in Kuala Lumpur
FRESH floods are threatening to bring further chaos to Malaysia and Indonesia, with unusually high tides, strong winds and more rain forecast at the end of the week.
Northern Jakarta is bracing itself for a deluge this weekend, while in Malaysia the Meteorological Department warned that the east coast of the peninsula and the west coast of Sarawak are at risk.
Officials from Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told The Straits Times yesterday that high tides are expected from Saturday to Christmas Day next Tuesday.
And the agency's Mr Fakhri said: 'We have to prepare for floods occurring when heavy rain coincides with high tide.'
The warning follows a similar forecast from the Jakarta Flood Project, which last Friday predicted the capital would be pounded by 2m-high waves this weekend, with the districts of Muara, Penjaringan and Pluit particularly at risk.
Over the last week, North Jakarta residents have already been subject to regular flooding from sea surge after coastal barriers broke.
But even as workers rush to rebuild the six barriers, the situation is expected to worsen when high tides and heavy rain arrive over the weekend.
Jakarta government crisis centre head Heru Joko Santoso warned that the tides could be worse than those that hit the north of the capital on Nov 26.
Global warming is commonly blamed for worsening floods, but environmentalist Hasbi Aziz said the growing problem facing Jakarta is largely the result of development projects begun on low-lying land in the late 1980s.
And Flood Project head Jan Jaap Brinkman told reporters last Friday: 'Climate change only plays a minor part in this. The current high tides are part of an 18.6 year lunar cycle which has been worsened by land subsidence.'
In Malaysia, where heavy rain and strong winds are forecast and disaster relief agencies have been put on standby, the Meteorological Department also pointed to planetary influence yesterday.
It said that between Friday and Dec 29, high tides will occur as the moon, Sun and Earth are lined up together.
'On Dec 22, the moon and the Earth will be at their closest distance from each other, and on Dec 24 there will also be a full moon.'
While this is not particularly unusual, it creates a strong gravitational pull on the ocean and causes large waves, and when combined with heavy rain and strong winds, it can lead to disastrous floods.
