Malaysia: Get prepared for a wet, wet season

The Star 17 Jul 16;

PETALING JAYA: The wet and rainy season is here. According to the Malaysian Meteorological Depart­ment, many areas in the peninsula will be hit by scattered rain from now until next month.

An average monthly rainfall of between 100mm and 250mm is expected and may see further increase in September.

In Sarawak, the department is predicting “higher than normal” rainfall of between 200mm and 250mm for this month, especially in Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Sibu. Other areas in the state will experience normal average rainfall.

The department said that many parts of Sabah would receive normal rainfall during the same period.

Currently, Malaysia is experiencing the south-west monsoon which is expected to last until mid-September. La Nina’s effects are likely to be felt around September, with an active hurricane expected in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and these might affect many parts of Sabah.

The La Nina phenomenon is coming at the tail end of the strongest El Nino in 20 years, which brought scorching heat and dry days earlier in the year.

The latest data from a United States climate agency showed that there was a 75% chance of La Nina occurring between October and December.

The National Disaster Manage­ment Agency has been tasked to coordinate disaster preparedness and flood mitigation plans for La Nina.

Bad weather halts flight departures, arrivals at KLIA, KLIA2
HARIZ MOHD New Straits Times 18 Jul 16;

KUALA LUMPUR: Stormy skies over the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and klia2 saw delays in departures and arrivals of several flights last night.

Malaysia Airports Bhd in a statement said the delays affected Malaysia Airlines, Tiger Airways, JetStar and Air Asia flights from 7pm upwards.

"Malaysia Airports would like to inform that there have been some delays of arrival and departure of flights from 7pm this evening affecting Malaysia Airlines, Tiger Airways, JetStar and Air Asia due to bad weather over KLIA and klia2.

"Based on the information we received from Air Traffic Control, the bad weather had also affected Singapore."

The statement posted on MAHB's official Facebook page after midnight today stated that flight movements at both airports had resumed as normal as weather conditions had improved.

It said passengers have been advised to check with the respective airlines to confirm their flight schedules.


Heavy shower, thunderstorms in KL nothing to do with La Nina
The Star 14 Jul 16;

KUALA LUMPUR: The heavy shower and thunderstorms which hit the federal capital Wednesday had nothing to do with the La Nina phenomenon but the country is still experiencing the south-west monsoon.

Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau said the south-west monsoon phase, where the atmosphere was drier had started since the third week of May and was expected to continue until September.

Thus, he said, the current hot and dry weather resulted in the country having less rain compared to the other seasons.

“But, heavy rain and thunderstorms are still expected to occur because of the presence of the squall line, that is, a line of thunderstorm cloud moving from the sea towards land.

“This phenomenon can occur during dawn especially in the coastal areas in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, west Johor, west Sabah and Sarawak,” he said Wednesday.

Yesterday afternoon, the federal capital was hit by thunderstorms which resulted in flash floods in several locations and uprooted trees that damaged more than 10 vehicles. – Bernama