Malaysia: Climate change triggers Penang’s flood, prompting need to revamp counter-flood systems

Today Online 7 Nov 17;

KUALA LUMPUR — Abnormal downpour caused by climate change has rendered Penang’s current flood mitigation system obsolete and in need of a major revamp, Putrajaya said on Monday (Nov 6) after major floods hit the northern Malaysian state over the weekend.

At the same time, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the federal government will have to revise its national flood mitigation plans, noting that the heavy downpour in Penang even affected locations thought to be flood-proof.

“It all ties up to climate change. When the earth is warmer, the more water gets absorbed. That also means more water will come down as rain,” he said, noting that the downpour was likely the heaviest to hit Penang.

Flash floods caused by hours of torrential rain killed seven people in the state over the weekend, while over 6,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

Over half of Penang was submerged in flood waters following the heavy downpour that averaged more than 250mm in just 24 hours. That amounts to 60mm of heavy rain an hour, according to official data.

The state is bracing itself for more rain as the Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecasted more thunderstorms for north-western states.

Climate change was seen as the primary cause for the 2014 floods that ravaged Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and some parts of Johor. It was the worst natural disaster in the country to date. Twenty-one people died in the floods that year with damage estimated to be more than RM1 billion (S$322 million).

Since then, Putrajaya has drafted a new national flood mitigation system with an allocation of up to RM4 billion for short to long-term projects aimed at reducing floods in monsoon-prone states.

But what happened in Penang meant the government needed to revise its planning, Mr Wan Junaidi said.

“Now we have to relook at the entire rain data and restrategise”.

Elaborating further on the flooding, Mr Wan Junaidi said Penang’s existing drainage system could not cope with the amount of rain as well as the rapid development taking place in the state.

“Penang’s flood problem is unique from other states like Kelantan, Terengganu and so on because it is an island. When the water level goes up and you’re surrounded by the sea, where do you drain the water to?” he said.

“Some possible solutions may be to build a barrage in the sea or a reservoir for storm water...but because Penang has no large tracts of land, they might have to make it deeper underground.”

Moreover, the state’s sewerage and irrigation system is two to three decades old and was planned without anticipating the effects of climate change, said Mr Wan Junaidi.

“And when you factor in development… the more the land is leveled and cemented, the easier it is for rain water to pile up.”

The minister conceded however that under-capacity sewerage and irrigation is not a problem unique only to Penang, as the flood mitigation systems in all major cities in Malaysia were to some extent outdated.

Meanwhile, Penang will get a Flood Forecasting and Warning System (PRAB) under the federal Budget 2018, said state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow.

“The system will implemented next year in three to four major rivers in the state,” he said in his winding-up speech after tabling an emergency motion on the flash floods at the state legislative assembly sitting on Monday morning.

PRAB is already running in Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang.

In its second phase, the system would be introduced in Kedah, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and parts of Selangor.

Mr Chow, who heads the state flood mitigation committee, vowed that Penang “would not sink” in the face of the current crisis, and instead, will prove that it was a resilient government in facing the situation together with the various government agencies and the people.

“Penang will get through this,” he said. AGENCIES