Malaysia floods: Orange-alert warning for Pahang, Terengganu lifted

LEVEL YELLOW: But rains will not stop and floods can still occur
New Straits Times 9 Dec 13;

THE orange-alert warning issued by the Meteorological Department in several parts of Pahang and Terengganu was lifted yesterday as the situation in flood-hit areas improved.

Its central forecast division director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the warning was changed to yellow at 9am.

"Heavy rains subsided in Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang but it will take some time, at least another two or three days, for the water levels to go down."

Helmi said despite the change, people should still take the necessary precautions.

"These warnings are only based on rainfall patterns and not on the level of flooding," he said, adding residents could expect intermittent rain for the next few days.

"There will be no more episodes of heavy rain. Only moderate rain will persist this week, which may still cause floods in low-lying areas."

On Tuesday, the department issued a Level 2 orange warning for five areas in Pahang and Terengganu.

National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab assured there was adequate supply of food for evacuees.

"The situation is under control and the supply of food and essential items at relief centres will last for at least three to five days," he said, acknowledging that there had been an initial delay in the supply of food to several relief centres.

Thajudeen attributed this to a sudden and unforeseen rise in the number of evacuees as well as the disruption of transport facilities because of floodwaters cutting off roads.

"Two teams were deployed in Kemaman and Pahang, and another 10 are on standby if the need arises."

He said the council was cooperating with the police, Fire and Rescue Department, district office and other agencies to ensure flood relief operations were carried effectively,
"All the necessary equipment for rescue operations, such as four-wheel-drive vehicles, ambulances, helicopters and boats, are ready to move out any time."

The number of evacuees in the east coast decreased yesterday as flood waters abated. As of 8pm, there were 35,502 displaced people in Pahang, 22,617 in Terengganu and 226 in Kelantan.

Mercy Malaysia corporate communications manager Eyasmin Hameed said the organisation had set up a mobile clinic and distributed 1,000 hygiene kits to flood victims in Kuantan.

She said the mobile clinic was set up at Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara on Thursday while the hygiene kits were distributed in collaboration with St John Ambulance Malaysia.

"We gave one hygiene kit for each family. Each kit accommodates the needs of five individuals and contains toiletries, combs, five slippers, nail-clippers and underwear for adults and children."

Eyasmin said Mercy Malaysia was also educating evacuees on the importance of cleanliness to avoid water-borne diseases from spreading.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd said yesterday it had restored power supply to all flood-affected areas as of 11am yesterday.

The situation in Johor improved yesterday because of good weather. Only 635 people were left at nine centres last night compared with 1,024 earlier in the afternoon.

Sunny weather brings relief to Johoreans as flood situation improves
Kathleen Ann Kili The Star 9 Dec 13;

JOHOR BARU: The flood situation in the state has improved with fewer than a thousand victims seeking shelter at nine flood relief centres as at 7am Monday.

A spokesman from the Johor flood operations centre said the number of victims dropped from 1,024 people on Sunday to 602 Monday.

He added that 125 families were still seeking shelter at a total of nine relief centres in three affected districts here, including Segamat, Pontian and Batu Pahat.

"Segamat recorded the highest number of victims with 484 people from 121 families evacuated to seven centres within the district," he said when contacted.

The other two relief centres were sheltering a total of 63 victims from 18 families and 55 victims from 12 families at Batu Pahat and Pontian respectively.

"We believe that the centres in Batu Pahat and Pontian can be shut down today (Monday) if the weather continues to be sunny there," he said.

He said that roads in between Segamat and Gambang was still closed due to floods.

He also assured that the State Welfare Department had sufficient food and water supplies besides other essential items to hand out to the victims.

Johor flood situation improves, roads reopened
Yee Xiang Yun The Star 8 Dec 13;

JOHOR BARU: The flood situation in Johor has improved and previously closed and sectioned roads have been reopened and are accessible by all types of vehicles.

As of 5pm Sunday, the Johor flood operations centre recorded a total of 1,024 from 274 families from three districts seeking relief at evacuation centres.

Victims still seeking shelter at 17 centres in the state include 489 evacuees from 122 families in Segamat, 414 victims from 110 families in Pontian and 121 victims from 42 families in Batu Pahat.

Centres in other previously affected districts like Ledang, Kota Tinggi, Kluang, Kulaijaya, Mersing and Muar have since closed down as flood waters receded.

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Saving the ecosystem: Engineered Wetlands - a sustainable solution for mangrove depletion

Farhan Anwar The Express Tribune 9 Dec 13;

KARACHI: To preserve mangroves, we need to do more than just plant them – we need to address the reasons for their decline and achieve a long-term solution.

The social, economic and environmental importance of the mangrove forests and their threatened status in Pakistan is well-established. Most of the conservation projects that have been initiated so far have focused on planting mangroves and raising awareness among the communities. While planting additional mangroves may contribute to a short-term increase in the vegetation cover, a failure to tackle the underlying reasons for their decline would mean that long-term benefits are not achieved.

Major threats to the mangrove forests include pollution, human exploitation and lesser availability of fresh water in the crucial mixing zones where the mangroves survive. To redress this negative development, we need viable measures to remove these threats.
One such measure is to use the opportunities provided by nature – using wetlands as a ‘pollutant filter’ to cleanse polluted domestic sewage. Along the Karachi coastline and beyond, most of the mangroves have been cleared to make way for boating marinas. The dense mangrove cover is now only available across the coastline in the creek system.
Ecotone wetlands
One possible approach to sustainably protect these threatened mangrove ecosystems could be the development of ‘Ecotone Wetlands’ or artificial wetlands along the coastline. The sewage of the village can be collected and transferred to a specially designed wetland, where some species of indigenous sub-semi arid forest variety that can be used for fodder orfuel wood are planted. The sewage can be channelled sub-surface into the wetland to provide nutrients to the plantations and thus a unique combination of marine plus terrestrial and natural plus constructed ‘Ecotone Wetland’ can be operated.

With the availability of alternative sources of fuel wood and fodder, a reduction in pollution load, the mangroves will benefit. The local community, particularly women, who can be the main focus of the capacity-building process, will be trained in sustainable resource use.
Ecological engineering

The project will be based on the concept of ‘Ecological engineering’, which relies on the nature’s ability to self-design a self-sustaining ecosystem. Even within Karachi, such an experiment can be done along the backwater areas. This will also help treat sewage and can be extended to create a recreational facility. Since such a project offers an integrated approach, the community can also benefit along with the ecosystem.

A major cause of diseases in such coastal communities is improper sanitation. Once sewage is collected, transferred and treated, and then disposed off in a proper manner, the neighbourhood’s condition will improve. Subsequently, the health of these residents and their savings will also get better. Another short-term improvement that the residents will see is an improvement in financial condition as they will find employment in the project to develop this ‘Ecotone Wetland’. This will reduce the level of exploitation of the mangrove ecology. Since the mangroves act as nurseries for a variety of aquatic life, especially shrimps, the survival of the mangroves indirectly gets translated into financial benefits for the fishing community, as well.

The writer is an urban planner and runs a non-profit organisation based in Karachi city focusing on urban sustainability issues. He can be reached at fanwar@sustainableinitiatives.org.pk,

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Arctic thaw tied to European, U.S. heatwaves and downpours: study

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 5 Dec 13;

A thaw of Arctic ice and snow is linked to worsening summer heatwaves and downpours thousands of miles south in Europe, the United States and other areas, underlying the scale of the threat posed by global warming, scientists said on Sunday.

Their report, which was dismissed as inconclusive by some other experts, warned of increasingly extreme weather across "much of North America and Eurasia where billions of people will be affected".

The study is part of a drive to work out how climate change affects the frequency of extreme weather, from droughts to floods. Governments want to know the trends to plan everything from water supplies to what crops to plant.

But the science of a warming Arctic is far from settled.

Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, experts in China and the United States said they could not conclusively say the Arctic thaw caused more extreme weather, or vice versa.

But they said they had found evidence of a relationship between the two. Rising temperatures over thawing snow on land and sea ice in the Arctic were changing atmospheric pressure and winds, the report said.

The changes slowed the eastward movement of vast meandering weather systems and meant more time for extreme weather to develop - such as a heatwave in Russia in 2010, droughts in the United States and China in 2011 and 2012, or heavy summer rains that caused floods in Britain in 2012, the paper added.

"The study contributes to a growing body of evidence that ... the melting Arctic has wide-ranging implications for people living in the middle latitudes," lead author Qiuhong Tang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told Reuters.

VANISHING ICE

Sea ice in the Arctic shrank to a record low in 2012 and the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists says it could almost vanish in summers by 2050 with rising greenhouse gas emissions.

But some scientists said other factors, including the usual vagaries of weather or changing sea temperatures, may explain some recent extremes rather than changes in the Arctic.

"The jury is still very much out," James Screen, an expert at Exeter University in England, said of efforts to see if there is a link between a melting Arctic and extremes further south in the northern hemisphere.

Some evidence in Sunday's study was "plausible ... but far from conclusive," he said, adding that some of the data were not statistically significant and might be random variations.

"For people on the streets, what really matters is whether the extremes are changing or not. But from the scientific perspective we want to understand why," he said. Better understanding is vital to make reliable predictions.

In September, the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists raised the probability that most global warming since 1950 has a human cause - mostly gases released by burning fossil fuels - to 95 percent from 90 in a previous assessment in 2007.

James Overland, of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said many extremes studied were in the past decade, too short to know for sure if they were enhanced by Arctic ice and snow melt or not.

"Sceptics remain unconvinced that Arctic/mid-latitude linkages are proven, and this work will do little to change their viewpoint," he wrote in a comment in Nature Climate Change.

Still, he said there was a high potential for an Arctic influence, given the outlook for a further thaw.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle)

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Ancient farming seen curbing extinctions of animals, plants

Reuters Yahoo News 9 Dec 13;

OSLO (Reuters) - Ancient farming practices, such as raising fish in rice paddies in China or Aboriginal Australian fire controls, will get a new lease of life under plans to slow extinctions of animals and plants, experts said on Monday.

Turning to traditional farming is seen as a way of limiting what U.N. studies say is the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, driven by a rising human population that is wrecking natural habitats.

A 115-nation group seeking to protect the diversity of wildlife, which underpins everything from food supplies to medicines, will look at ways to revive and promote indigenous peoples' practices at talks in Turkey from December 9-14.

"Indigenous and local knowledge ... has played a key role in arresting biodiversity loss and conserving biodiversity," Zakri Abdul Hamid, founding chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), told Reuters.

The idea is partly to compare traditional farming around the world and see if the practices can be used in other nations.

Among ideas, raising fish in the waters of rice paddies, a practice used in south China for 1,200 years and in some other Asian nations, can reduce pests. Most modern rice paddies are not used to raise fish.

Farming the two together "reduces by 68 percent the need for pesticides and by 24 percent the need for chemical fertilizer compared with monocultures", an IPBES report said. Pesticides often kill many more species than those targeted.

And in countries including Australia, Indonesia, Japan and Venezuela, traditional burning of small patches of countryside can create a mosaic of firebreaks that prevents the spread of devastating blazes in the dry season, it said.

WILDFIRES, ARCTIC

Small fires mean that wildlife can get out of harm's way more easily than in a big fire, reducing risks of extinctions.

In Australia, such protection generates carbon credits for Aborigines by slowing deforestation - a source of up to a fifth of man-made greenhouse gases blamed for causing global warming.

In June, Australia's Indigenous Land Corporation said it sold 25,000 tonnes of carbon credits for savannah burning, the first such open market sale, to Chevron for more than $A20 ($18.20) a tonne.

Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from human activities, from the air as they grow and release it when they burn or rot.

Sam Johnston, an Australian expert at the U.N. University's Institute for Advanced Studies, said carbon markets might be used elsewhere. "We've found almost identical conditions in parts of Africa and Latin America," he told Reuters.

Other examples of traditional knowledge include pits dug on Tanzanian hillsides to collect rainfall in the rainy season to limit erosion, or weather observations by Inuit people in the Arctic to complement satellite data about melting ice.

And many Pacific island communities safeguard fish stocks around coral reefs, for instance by declaring some areas sacred sites that are then off limits to fishing.

Anne Larigauderie, incoming executive secretary of IPBES, said indigenous peoples often felt ignored by government planners. "There is a great need for recognition and acceptance of their knowledge," she said.

Other efforts to slow extinctions include creating more protected areas and enforcing laws on wildlife protection.

(Reporting by Alister Doyle; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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Malaysia floods: After the 'surge', now the 'trough'

New Straits Times 8 Dec 13;

PAHANG ALERT: More flooding expected in low-lying areas

THE Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) issued an orange-level alert of continuous heavy rain in several areas of Pahang.

Many areas of the state, namely Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin, Temerloh, Bera, and Maran experienced intermittent rain yesterday and gloomy weather is expected to continue until today.
The situation is expected to cause floods in low-lying areas.

MMD central forecast division director, Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the heavy rain was due to a weather phenomenon known as "active monsoonal trough", which was different from the normal "monsoon surge" which caused the first wave of floods in the east coast.

"The monsoon trough is an area of convection (build-up of rain clouds) which lies close to the Equator during this time of year, and it spreads across Sabah and Sarawak, and the peninsula."
Helmi said unlike the monsoon surge which can be predicted a week ahead, it is difficult to predict this type of tropical weather system.

"The indications are not clear. Besides, we can only predict the weather when the radar indicates the formation of the clouds." He said the colour warning was usually reserved for monsoonal rain, but due to the rain intensity and its area of coverage, the orange warning was issued.

The warning indicates floods occurring and to warn those in the affected areas to prepare to evacuate if the situation worsened.

Meanwhile, heavy rain and thunderstorm warnings were issued for Perak (Kerian, Larut, Matang, Selama, Kuala Kangsar, Kinta, Manjung and central Perak), Selangor (Kuala Langat and Sepang), Negri Sembilan (Seremban and Port Dickson), Johor (Batu Pahat, Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Johor Bahru, Kulaijaya and Pontian), Pahang (Cameron Highlands, Lipis and Jerantut) and Terengganu (Dungun and Kemaman).

The heavy rain is expected to continue until tonight and the same weather condition is expected to occur in Pahang (Raub and Bentong).

These conditions are expected to cause strong winds and flash floods.

In Pahang, heavy rain pounded several districts yesterday, increasing the flood victims to 39,580 in the evening compared with 38,099 in the morning.

Raub became the latest district to be hit after eight people were moved to shelters while the number of flood victims in Temerloh was expected to increase by midnight after heavy rains yesterday evening.

Kuantan recorded the highest number of flood evacuees at 34,222 followed by Pekan (2,887), Temerloh (847), Maran (784), Jerantut (520), Rompin (153), Bera (106) and Lipis (53).
Four stretches - Km28 Jalan Sungai Lembing-Kuantan, Km72 Jalan Kuantan-Segamat, Km14 Jalan Temerloh-Bahau and Km 51 Jalan Kuantan Kemaman -- are still closed to all vehicles after being submerged by more than 1m of water.

In Terengganu, the situation was grim despite a decrease in the number of displaced victims yesterday.

As of 5pm, authorities expected the flood, which had receded slightly and saw eight of 76 relief centres statewide closed, to worsen as downpour since 11am did not show any signs of stopping.

Information received from the state's Disaster Operations Centre stated that there was over 85mm rainfall distribution at Sungai Kemaman due to the downpour yesterday, causing its water level to rise rapidly.

The flood caused phone communications in the district to be almost severed.

An officer at the district's Disaster Operations Centre said food and petrol supplies for purchase were scarce, with motorists having to go as far as Kijal and Kerteh, more than 15km away to refuel.

Kemaman district officer Mohd Kamil Othman said they were preparing for the worst.
He said several roads connecting Kemaman to Dadong, Air Putih and Teladas, were cut off due to flooding.

Meanwhile, the overall number of evacuees in the state, as of 4.30pm, decreased to 22,236 compared with 22,678 in the morning.

Kemaman made up the highest number with 18,576 victims in 43 centres.

In Johor, 1,639 flood victims were placed at 23 relief centres as more people left the centres for their home. The weather in most parts of the state was reported to be sunny yesterday.
In Kelantan, the situation in flood hit areas improved with only Pasir Mas affected. Six centres in Pasir Putih, Machang and Tanah Merah were closed in the morning after the evacuees returned home.

Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob yesterday said flood victims in the state will be given cash aid from the Tabung Serambi Mekah soon. Ahmad said each state constituency affected would receive between RM10,000 and RM15,000.

Second wave begins in Terengganu
The Star 8 Dec 13;

KUALA LUMPUR: A second wave of flooding has begun in Terengganu with more people affected by rising water while continuous rain in Pahang is putting the authorities and public on high alert over the next 24 hours.

However, both Kelantan and Johor saw a slight improvement after many flood evacuees were allowed to return home.

The Meteorological Department said that thunderstorms and heavy rain occurring over Pahang and Terengganu are expected to persist.

It added that the same weather conditions were expected to occur over Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

In Terengganu, the number of evacuees rose to 22,706 by evening, a drastic increase from the 6,758 sheltering in relief centres, after Kemaman was inundated again with water.

The National Security Council said the returning rain and high tide contributed to the floods, forcing more people to be evacuated.

“Several villages, which were not flooded at first, are now inundated, including Kampung Geliga, Banggol, Gong Pauh and Kampung Besut,” it said.

Communications in Kemaman have been affected with many electrical substations under water, making it difficult for flood victims to call up for help.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the army was getting ready to deploy its engineers to build a tactical bridge in Sg Limbungan Kemaman after a 5m portion of its river bank collapsed.

In Pahang, the Meteorological Department said an orange level alert had been issued for Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin, Temerloh, Bera and Maran in Pahang, which were expected to see heavy rains continuing until today.

Yesterday, the state capital, already reeling from floods that closed roads and shut down businesses, saw continuous rain from morning.

As at 6.15pm, there had been an increase of evacuees in Pahang to 39,580 people sheltering at 116 relief centres, the highest number among the states affected. Bera is the latest district to be flooded.

Third Division Commander Maj Gen Datuk Sheikh Mohsin Sheikh Hassan said 1,200 Armed Forces personnel were already involved in rescue operations while another 1,200 were on standby should a second wave of floods hit Pahang.

Stretches along several main roads – Sungai Lembing-Kuantan road at the 28KM stretch, Kuantan-Segamat road at the 72KM and Temerloh-Bahau road at the 14KM – are still closed to traffic after being inundated with more than a metre of water.

In Kelantan, 619 out of the 2,381 people sheltering in relief centres were allowed home after the weather turned for the better.

Although the water level had subsided somewhat, the level of Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang remained above the danger level at 10.26m.

In Johor, there was a slight drop in the number of evacuees from 1,633 to 1,538 with clear skies reported here and Kulaijaya.

The areas still affected by floods are Segamat, Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi.

Johor still affected by floods with 1,224 evacuees at 17 relief centres
Yee Xiang Yun The Star 8 Dec 13;

JOHOR BARU: Flood waters have yet to fully recede in certain parts of Johor with 1,224 victims housed at 17 relief centres.

Segamat remains the most affected part of the state with nine relief centres open. The district and Mersing were affected by floods since Monday.

However, the relief centres in Mersing have since closed while Segamat still houses 582 victims from 145 families as of 9am on Sunday.

A check with the Johor flood operations centre showed that Pontian has three centres opened since Saturday to accommodate 414 victims from 110 families, and Batu Pahat has four centres sheltering 220 victims from 65 families.

The operations centre spokesman said that Ledang has one centre opened to house eight evacuees from two families while the flood relief centres at other previously affected districts like Kota Tinggi, Kulaijaya and Johor Baru remain closed.

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Human-animal conflict a complex issue to manage

WONG HONG MUN, GROUP DIRECTOR, AGRI ESTABLISHMENT REGULATORY GROUP, FOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AGRI-FOOD & VETERINARY AUTHORITY
Today Online 7 Dec 13;

We thank the contributors of the recent Voices letters on human-monkey conflict. These reflect differing sentiments on how such conflicts could be managed.

While some believe that more direct forms of management, via population control such as culling, should be adopted, others prefer a longer-term approach of education and greater public awareness of how to co-exist with monkeys.

The management of human-animal conflict is a complex issue, with many stakeholders holding differing views. We must acknowledge the differing views and work together to find appropriate, feasible solutions for both the short and longer term.

In managing human-animal conflicts, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s (AVA) priority is to ensure that public safety and health are not compromised. Monkeys may carry zoonotic diseases transmissible to humans that are harmful to our health.

We have received feedback on monkey nuisance and aggression. For the latter, the AVA would act immediately to prevent further threats to public safety. For instance, earlier this year, a monkey dislodged glass window panes repeatedly from a school chapel. Fortunately, no one was injured.

In September, a monkey entered a condominium unit and injured an infant. In both cases, the AVA carried out surveillance and targeted control operations upon receiving the feedback.

Residents, too, can help minimise human-monkey conflict by making their premises less attractive to monkeys. Simple, immediate actions such as keeping food items out of sight and practising good refuse management, like disposing of rubbish in bins with secured lids, can be practised.

While residents do their part, the AVA is working with the National Parks Board to study the feasibility of sterilisation as a long-term measure to manage the monkey population.

However, irresponsible feeding by some members of the public remains a problem. It alters the monkeys’ behaviour, resulting in them venturing out of their natural habitats in search of human food sources.

The monkeys rummage through rubbish bins and approach humans boldly, including grabbing plastic bags and other belongings.

The public should refrain from feeding monkeys and keep food away from them. It should be noted that it is an offence to feed monkeys in the nature reserves. Members of the public who have feedback on monkey-related issues may contact the AVA at 1800 476 1600.

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Wilmar to require suppliers to implement ‘no-burn’ policy

Neo Chai Chin Today Online 7 Dec 13;

SINGAPORE — In a new policy that observers say could transform agricultural production, Wilmar International — the world’s biggest palm oil trader — will require its suppliers to stop deforestation and development on peatland, and implement a “no-burn” policy on all their plantations.

It has also pledged to ensure both its own plantations and companies from which it sources will “provide only products that are free from links to deforestation or abuse of human rights and local communities”.

The Singapore-listed firm expects its suppliers to be fully compliant with its new No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation policy by Dec 31, 2015.

Palm oil companies have been accused of destroying rainforests and burning carbon-rich peatlands to clear land for plantations. Some of them came under the spotlight after thick haze blanketed Singapore and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia in June.

A Wilmar spokesperson said some commitments had already been made previously, in line with standards set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an industry body.

But, with greater expectations for more responsible sourcing, “this policy is to ensure our supply chain meets stakeholder aspirations and expectations”, said the spokesperson. Wilmar Chief Executive Kuok Khoon Hong said the firm believes the palm oil sector “can provide a sustainable and affordable source of vegetable oil to meet rising global demand” for products produced in a “responsible” manner.

Given its central role in the palm oil industry, the firm’s commitment could “transform agricultural production to a responsible basis”, said Mr Glenn Hurowitz of Climate Advisers, which worked closely with Wilmar to develop the new policy.

On Thursday, Wilmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with consumer-goods firm Unilever to spur the palm oil industry towards sustainability. Unilever — which buys about 3 per cent of the palm oil produced globally, or about 1.5 million tonnes annually — announced last month that all the palm oil it purchased will be traceable to known sources by the end of next year.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said the success of Wilmar’s policy depends on how it is implemented and enforced. Now, it is up to other palm oil traders, such as Cargill, Musim Mas and Sime Darby, to release similar policies, said Bustar Maitar, Head of Greenpeace’s Forest Campaign in Indonesia.

Wilmar said it would provide quarterly public updates in the first year of the policy’s implementation, with regular updates given thereafter.

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Malaysia: East coast may be hit by second flood wave

New Straits Times 7 Dec 13;

WARNING: Four states could face the brunt

A SECOND wave of floods is expected to hit the east coast in the third week of December, the Malaysian Meteorological Department said yesterday.

Its central forecast division director, Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, said there would be a series of heavy rainfall between the third week of December and February, next year.

He said the second wave of floods would likely hit Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan and Johor.
The prolonged heavy rainfall, he said, would coincide with the presence of the full moon on Dec 17, which would result in unusually high tides.

"Heavy rainfall is common during the monsoon season, but it is the combination of high tides and strong winds that cause severe flooding in flood prone areas."

He advised the public to be on alert and keep themselves updated with the latest developments to ensure they were prepared.

National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab said alerts would be sent out to government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and volunteers to be prepared for the second wave of floods.

"We have to prepare food supplies and other relief items."

Thajudeen said various NGOs and government agencies, including police, Rela and Civil Defence Department, would be notified to prepare the relief items, including dry food.

Meanwhile, Helmi said the second wave of floods would be caused by "monsoon surges" (strong bursts of cold air from Siberia).

"Cold air will flow out of Siberia towards the coastal waters of China before heading towards the peninsula.

"Winds from the Pacific will combine with the northeasterly winds, creating rain clouds which will bring about heavy rainfall."

He said there may be two more widespread flooding episodes in January and February next year due to heavy rainfall.

He said the east coast of Sabah and west and central Sarawak may be affected by the rainfall next year.

On the worsening flood situation every year, he said it was because of "extreme weather" conditions.

"We have not seen notable changes in the amount of rainfall in Malaysia. The more severe thunderstorms and rainfall these days could be due to climate change."

Helmi said the department would issue an advisory on the level of warning (yellow, orange or red) should there be prolonged heavy rainfall.

The yellow alert is to make people aware of the weather condition and to take preventive action.

The orange alert implies that floods are already occurring and to warn those in affected areas to prepare to act if the situation worsens.

The red alert is issued when there is severe weather and major floods.

Helmi added that these warnings were only based on the rainfall pattern and not on the severity of flood conditions.

He said there had been two episodes of heavy rainfall so far.

The first occurred between Nov 18 to 22 and the second ended on Thursday.

"After the first period of heavy rainfall, the river levels rose, leading to a yellow alert in Kelantan and Terengganu.

"The second episode was quite severe because it occurred together with high tides."
He said there were many factors that caused floods.

"The first wave was due to the presence of a new moon, high tides and strong winds that pushed the sea water up to the shores.

"The strong northeasterly monsoon winds over the South China Sea pushed the sea water, causing it to rise to its highest level, covering much of the shore and into the river mouth and this caused the water to overflow."

This, together with high tides, worsened the condition as the water could not flow out into the river and sea, he added.

Flood situation getting worse
The Star 7 Dec 13;

KUALA TERENGGANU: The number of evacuees in the flood-hit states is continuing to rise as the flood situation continues to worsen.

In Terengganu, the number of flood evacuees rose to 7,337 yesterday evening with Dungun registering the biggest increase among the districts.

Up to 4,340 people have been evacuated in Dungun, from 2,668 in the morning. The National Security Council (MKN) portal reported that Kemaman also registered an increase of over 100 evacuees to 2,472.

The number of evacuees dropped in the districts of Marang and Hulu Terengganu to 42 (from 63) in Marang and 483 (844) in Hulu Terengganu.

The portal said the floods in Besut and Setiu districts receded completely and all the evacuees were allowed to return to their homes yesterday.

Three people have been confirmed drowned in Pahang even as the number of flood evacuees began to drop.

The bodies of Pekan Umno committee member Jamali Jani, 45, and his son, Mohd Nazli, 17, were found yesterday after they went missing on Wednesday when they fell into the floodwaters in Sungai Isap.

Mohamed Alif Khalid, 21, drowned on Wednesday while fishing alone at Sungai Kampung Sepial in Kuala Tembeling, Jerantut.

A spokesman of the Pahang police flood operations room said the number of evacuees had dropped to 32,808 from 34,235 in the morning.

He said the evacuees were from eight districts, namely Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin, Maran, Jerantut, Lipis, Temerloh and Bera.

Kuantan district continues to have the highest number of evacuees, at 27,385, who are being housed at 48 relief centres.

The spokesman said Rompin district had 1,167 evacuees at 14 relief centres; Pekan, 3,218 at 18 centres; Maran, 49 at two centres; Jerantut, 472 at 11 centres; Lipis, 33 at two centres; Temerloh, 419 at five centres and Bera, 65 at five centres.

Several stretches of road remain closed, among them Jalan Sungai Lembing-Kuantan at Km28, Jalan Kuantan-Segamat at Km72, Jalan Kuantan-Rompin at Km62 and Jalan Temerloh-Bahau at Km14. —Bernama.

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Malaysia: Poachers breach forest reserves

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 7 Dec 13;

ILLEGAL TRADE: Wildlife study cameras in Sabah catch them in the act

KOTA KINABALU: ILLEGAL hunters are prowling even protected forests in Sabah.

Poachers have been found to be encroaching crucial sites, such as the Crocker Range National Park, Tawau Hills National Park, Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Malua BioBank and Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

Footage of their activities was caught by camera traps set up at specific locations by the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) for wildlife study purposes.

Describing the hunting within forest reserves as serious, DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens stressed on the need for the government and relevant agencies to sit down and tackle the problem.

"It is paramount that the millions of ringgit invested in our protected forests are used for wildlife protection and enforcement against wildlife trade and poaching.

"Shall we wait for another iconic species, such as the Sumatran rhino, to disappear in Sabah before reacting?"

Speaking at the recent Wild Animal Rescue Network (Warn) conference, Goossens said a report by the trade monitoring network, Traffic, revealed that 22,200 pangolins were traded in the state by syndicates within 13 months.

The figure was derived from logbooks seized by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) from syndicates in 2009.

The report also revealed that eight of 21 shops surveyed in 2010 sold bear bile products, while 10 of 24 shops sold similar products last year.

SWD director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the department would look into setting up an enforcement unit to tackle wildlife trade and illegal hunters.

"This unit will focus on wildlife trade, illegal hunting and bushmeat trade, using the best tools against wildlife smuggling and poaching.

"It will have a permanent presence in all protected areas in Sabah.

"We are looking for institutions keen on supporting the unit."

More than 100 wildlife experts participated in the two-day conference, organised by SWD and DGFC.

Among the participating countries were India, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Warn is a network of wild animal rescue centres, wildlife law enforcement groups and officials, and animal protection groups in East and Southeast Asia.

The conference was aimed at boosting the capabilities of East and Southeast Asian wildlife rescue centres to rescue and conserve wildlife and providing conservation awareness education for the public, as well as advocating minimum standards practised by wildlife rescue centres.

SWD assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said Warn would bring Asian countries together in matters pertaining to wildlife conservation and assist government authorities in each country to monitor illegal wildlife trade.

Sabah to ensure wildlife safety
The Star 8 Dec 13;

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department will set up an enforcement unit following reports of illegal poaching activities at pristine conservation areas including the Maliau Basin and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the Wildlife Enforcement Unit would work in a similar way with the Wildlife Rescue Unit, but would focus on wildlife trade, illegal hunting and bush meat trade.

“Our aim is to deploy the best existing tools against wildlife smuggling and poaching and having a permanent presence in all protected areas in Sabah.

“We are looking for institutions interested to support this unit,” he said yesterday.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Sabah would use all means to stop illegal hunting and the sale of protected animal species’ parts.

“We might seem to have lost many battles, but I can assure you, the buck stops here and the war for wildlife conservation is being fought hard by a very dedicated group of people in Sabah in whom I place all my trust,’’ he added.

At the Fifth East and Southeast Asian Wild Animal Rescue Network (WARN) conference held in Tuaran on Nov 26 and Nov 27, wildlife researchers reported that there was ample evidence of illegal hunting in several forest reserves and national parks in Sabah.

These included iconic areas such as the Crocker Range National Park, Tawau Hills National Park, Maliau Basin Conservation Area and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

Other affected conservation areas include the Malua Bio Bank and Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

“This is extremely serious and the state government, NGOs and research institutions need to tackle this issue as quickly as possible if we don’t want to see our wildlife ending up in bowls and as medicinal products,” said wildlife research NGO Danau Girang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goosens.

Conference delegates were also briefed about recent data from surveys carried out by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic on pangolin and sun bear bile trade.

“The results were astonishing. Out of 21 shops visited in December 2010 in Kota Kinabalu, eight were selling bear bile products,” Goosens said.

In a survey carried out in Sabah last year, 10 out of 24 shops surveyed were found to be selling sun bear products.

Goosens said a Traffic report published in 2010 on pangolin trade in Sabah, including an analysis on trade syndicate’s logbooks seized in 2009, showed that 22,200 pangolins were traded by the syndicate in 13 months.

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Best of our wild blogs: 6 Dec 13

14 Dec (Sat): Free evening tour for families at Pasir Ris mangroves
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Pulau Hauntu
from The annotated budak

Nectaring plants of butterflies
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Javan Myna takes a gecko
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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