Trees surrounding fallen Tembusu in Botanic Gardens are safe: NParks

Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) on Sunday (Feb 12) said it completed a detailed check on the trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens' Palm Valley, a day after a massive Tembusu tree in the area fell, killing a woman and injuring four other people.

In a media statement, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Dr Leong Chee Chiew said that the checks showed that the other trees in the area were safe, and added that NParks officials are in the midst of checking more trees in the Palm Valley vicinity.

Palm Valley remains closed to the public while investigations continue and the fallen tree is being cleared.

Dr Leong added that the rest of the Botanic Gardens remains open and is safe for the public to visit.

The Tembusu tree that fell was more than 270 years old and predates the establishment of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was 40m tall with a 6.5m girth, and brought down surrounding palm trees when it fell. The tree was last inspected in September 2016, NParks said, adding that such inspections include checks on the root collar, anchoring roots, crown, trunk and signs of soil movement.

One tree expert told Channel NewsAsia that the tree most likely toppled because the recent heavy rain had caused the soil to become waterlogged and to loosen.

"We want to assure the public that we share concerns about the safety of our trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, especially in view of the recent spate of intense weather conditions," said Dr Leong, adding that NParks has, over time, stepped up inspections in response to "increasingly unpredictable and severe weather conditions".

Dr Leong noted that previously, trees along expressways and major roads were inspected once every 12 to 18 months, and that since 2012, NParks has increased the frequency of inspections to once every six to 12 months. Since November 2016, trees more than 4m in girth are also subject to yearly detailed second-level inspections, he said.

Besides inspections, NParks also takes measures like routine mulching to supplement the regular application of fertilisers, and pruning techniques to improve the structure and balance of trees, he said.

"Going forward, we are already developing modelling techniques to better understand the structural behaviour of trees under varying environmental conditions like rain, wind and soil," said Dr Leong.

He also urged the public not to speculate on why the Tembusu fell, saying that NParks is still investigating the incident and its priority now is to help the families of the woman who was killed as well as those who were injured.

- CNA/am/dt


No effort will be spared to ensure Botanic Gardens remains safe: Lawrence Wong
Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: No effort will be spared to ensure that the Botanic Gardens remains safe for the public, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday (Feb 12), a day after a massive Tembusu tree toppled, killing a woman and injuring four others there.

Mr Wong noted in a Facebook post that it is unusual for a Tembusu tree, especially one recently assessed to be healthy, to fall without any warning, and that NParks has asked arborists and experts to investigate the matter.

The tree had been inspected last September and given a clean bill of health.

Mr Wong added that the gardens remain open although the affected area has been cordoned off while the fallen tree is cleared.

"The Botanic Gardens is our national treasure - we will spare no effort to ensure that it remains safe for all to enjoy," he said.

NParks earlier said it completed a detailed check on the trees in Palm Valley, where the Tembusu had fallen, and concluded that the other trees in the area were safe.

38-year-old Radhika Angara was killed when the tree fell on her and her family. Her husband and twin children are among those injured.

Mr Wong said he was shocked and saddened by the accident. "My deepest condolences to the family of the victim; and my prayers go out to the injured for a speedy recovery."

- CNA/dt


Despite safety fears, most want big trees to stay
TAN WEIZHEN Today Online 13 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE — Visitors to the Botanic Gardens on Sunday (Feb 12) said they were concerned about safety, given the fatality caused by the Tembusu tree that had fallen, but were against chopping down other large Tembusu trees to prevent a similar occurrence — an opinion echoed by nature experts.

Mdm Angie Ng, 76, a frequent visitor to the Gardens, was at the scene of the fallen tree to see the progress of the clean-up on Sunday morning.

“I’m concerned because, lately, the winds have been very strong, and it can be dangerous. However, I’m not in favour of chopping down the trees. Rather, more should be done to prune the trees properly,” said the retiree.

“I’m quite scared, I guess, and will avoid sitting under big trees for now,” said Mr Aaron Ong, who visits the Gardens weekly.

“However, there are so many old trees in Singapore, so we shouldn’t be chopping them down, but we should be doing more safety checks instead,” said the 30-year-old, who works in sales.

A 38-year-old woman from India was killed and four other people were injured when the 40m-tall Tembusu collapsed in the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Saturday afternoon. The tree, with a girth of 6.5m, was uprooted at 4.25pm at the edge of the Botanic Gardens’ Palm Valley, near the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage.

Many visitors were flummoxed as to what could have caused the old tree — which had stood for more than 270 years — to fall.

“I’ve been wondering why, as precautions had been taken, and the trees were checked regularly. Also, if it could withstand weather conditions for the last 200 years, surely it could withstand strong winds!” said Mr Manendra Chaudhari, 55.

Experts say that generally, the National Parks Board (NParks) would have a string of comprehensive measures and regular checks in place, and that this could have been a one-off, freak accident that was hard to predict. They were also caught by surprise as Tembusu trees are known to be hardy.

Botany expert Shawn Lum, who is also the Nature Society president, said, “It’s about knowing which species are vulnerable, monitoring them frequently, and pruning them to keep them from becoming too top-heavy.”

He said some species of trees that are prone to breaking would be removed, where possible, to pre-empt incidents of them falling and potentially injuring people.

For example, trees from the genus albizia, wherever they are found close to human activity, would be removed by the authorities unless they grow in forested areas. But regardless, he said, incidents may occur.

“In Singapore, there are bursts of heavy wind, and they sometimes bring chunks of forests down. Through their sheer force, they can even bring down old, sturdy trees if the wind strikes them at their vulnerable parts,” he said.

Arborist Ng Tze Ping of TP Arbo Care, which provides tree consultation services, added that there are now many advanced technologies for monitoring trees.

“For older trees, more advanced equipment should be used. Now, there are ultrasound technologies, for instance, which can detect any internal decay. But NParks should be well equipped with the range of technologies needed,” he said.


After detailed checks, NParks declares trees in Botanic Gardens’ Palm Valley safe
Today Online 13 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE — The National Parks Board (NParks) has completed a “detailed check” on all the trees in Palm Valley in the Botanic Gardens, where a Tembusu heritage tree fell on Saturday — killing one person — and has found them to be safe.

And it is now conducting more checks on other trees in the vicinity, as well as all the heritage trees in the Gardens, it said on Sunday (Feb 12). There are now 63 heritage trees left in the Gardens.

In its latest update, NParks also gave more details of the inspection regime for the tree that fell. For example, its twice-yearly inspections included checks on the anchoring roots, crown, trunk and signs of soil movement.

“We want to assure the public that we share concerns about the safety of our trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, especially in view of the recent spate of intense weather conditions,” said NParks Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Leong Chee Chiew. “As we’re still investigating the tree fall incident, we should not speculate on the cause of the tree fall and allow the due process to take its course. Our priority now is to accord assistance to the families of the deceased and the injured.”

A 38-year-old woman from India was killed and four others were injured when the tree, 40m tall and 6.5m in girth, collapsed on Saturday afternoon near the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage.

In response to the “increasingly unpredictable and severe weather conditions”, inspections of trees along expressways and major roads have been stepped up, said Dr Leong.

Previously done once every 12 to 18 months, depending on tree species, size and location, the frequency of inspections has been increased to once every six to 12 months since 2012.

And yearly “detailed second-level inspections” of old trees more than 4m in girth have been in place since November.

Experts said the definition of old trees varies from species to species, as each species matures at a different pace. According to arborist Ng Tze Ping of TP Arbo Care, Tembusu trees in Singapore older than 50 years can be considered old.

Measures to improve the general health of NParks’ trees have also been undertaken, added Dr Leong — for instance, pruning techniques to improve the structure and balance of trees. NParks has had an enhanced maintenance regime in place since last May, with further measures such as crown reduction and pruning before periods of severe weather conditions.

For heritage trees, pruning should be done twice a year if they are located in areas with high human traffic, said Mr Ng. According to NParks, which manages 5,000 Tembusu trees, the last time the fallen Tembusu tree was pruned was in August.

“Going forward, we’re already developing modelling techniques to better understand the structural behaviour of trees under varying environmental conditions like the rain, wind and soil,” said Dr Leong.

On Sunday morning, visitors clustered around the scene of the incident, taking pictures and speculating on the cause of the fall. While Palm Valley remained cordoned off from the public, the rest of the Gardens was open.

Workers at the fallen tree were sorting out bunches of branches and leaves and moving them away. At press time, workers were still cutting the trunk from its roots as lorries continued to remove portions of the tree from the Gardens.


Botanic Gardens tragedy: 'Not likely' tree fell owing to lack of space
Audrey Tan, Straits Times AsiaOne 13 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE - The 40m-tall tembusu tree that on Saturday (Feb 11) uprooted and killed a 38-year-old woman and left four others injured was unlikely to have fallen due to the lack of space, said Mr Lahiru Wijedasa, a former senior arborist at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The 270-year-old tembusu tree had already been there when the Gardens was established in 1859, Mr Lahiru told The Straits Times.

"It has been standing in the Gardens for more than a century since the Gardens was built. If its roots had not been able to adapt to the development, we would have seen tree failure ages ago.

"If restricted rooting was the issue, the tree would have long adapted, as there hasn't been any developments around the tree except building the road 160 years ago," said Mr Lahiru, who is now pursuing a doctorate at the National University of Singapore.

Mr Lahiru, who was a senior arborist at the Gardens between 2006 and 2009, was responding to speculation that the tree had failed because it did not have enough space to spread its roots.

He urged members of the public to await the results of final investigations and not to jump to conclusions, adding that he had decided to speak up to clarify some of the speculations raised since the incident happened.

On suggestions that the tree might have been affected by the recent winds and rain, Mr Lahiru said the weather conditions could cause a "compromised" tree to be uprooted.

"But like a chair with four legs, one of which has been hollowed out by termites, there may not have been visual clues.

"The point is that even if measures are taken to reduce the risk by 99 per cent, there is always a one per cent chance of something happening," Mr Lahiru said, adding that NParks has done its due diligence to ensure tree health.

On another suggestion of having mature trees inspected monthly, Mr Lahiru said this may not help in identifying the cause of the problem, if symptoms did not manifest in other parts of the tree.

He pointed out that there is already a system in place to look out for such red flags. The National Parks Board (NParks), which manages the Singapore Botanic Gardens, does detailed, twice-yearly routine inspections, in addition to the daily visual checks by arborists patrolling the grounds, he said.

NParks Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Leong Chee Chiew said in a statement on Sunday that it adopts a systematic regime of inspection checks based on the tree care standards prescribed by the International Society of Arboriculture in the United States, which is of the highest international standards.

A 2015 document on NParks' website said such Visual Tree Assessments are a non-invasive method of evaluating diagnostic symptoms of internal defects and measuring probability of tree failure.

"Further investigations using diagnostic decay instruments will sometimes be required to quantify these defects and determine if a tree actually poses a hazard," said the document, which The Straits Times has seen.

Mr Lahiru explained that when a tree fails due to defects either in its crown, trunk, or roots, there are usually symptoms. These could include having a receding crown, leaves turning colour, or more leaves falling off than usual.

Crown or trunk damage can be assessed easily as they are above ground. If there is a termite infestation, for example, there would be track marks. Crown failure due to excessive branching is also prevented by NParks' practice of regular pruning.

But even if the roots are damaged, by rot or fungal infections, symptoms would be manifested above ground, by dying leaves, for example. This is because the roots of trees take in water, which is vital for the nutrition of the plant and survival of the whole tree, he said.

"In this case, there did not appear to have been such signs," said Mr Lahiru. NParks had determined the tree healthy during its last routine inspection in September 2016.

If a red flag had been detected, the next step in tree inspection would be to use technology such as ultrasound scans. But this is not the first line of defence for arborists, as such scans are invasive - they would require metallic sensors to be drilled into the trunk. Doing so could introduce viruses and fungus into the tree, said Mr Lahiru.

Even if no red flags are detected, there are measures in place to ensure tree health, Mr Lahiru said.

NParks has said it conducts routine mulching to supplement the regular application of fertilisers, as well as pruning techniques to improve the structure and balance of trees.

The Board has also since May 2016 taken additional steps in tree pruning, such as by undertaking crown reduction and pruning prior to periods of more severe weather conditions.


Inspection of trees in Singapore in line with global standards: NParks
Justin Ong Channel NewsAsia 15 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: The inspection and care of trees in Singapore is in line with global standards, and in some areas exceed the best practices of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the National Parks Board (NParks) said on Wednesday (Feb 15).

Group director Oh Cheow Sheng said NParks takes an “adaptive approach” to tree management. More stringent inspections have been implemented over time in response to unpredictable and severe weather patterns, he said.

He was speaking at a media briefing held in the wake of two separate incidents where trees toppled, causing injuries and killing one person.

Last Saturday, a woman was killed and four others injured when a large, 270-year-old heritage tree toppled at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Two days later, another woman was put in intensive care after a tree at Yuan Ching Road fell on her.

The Tembusu tree in the Gardens case - which stands at 40m tall with a girth of 6.5m - was last inspected in September 2016. Due to its heritage status, it receives two checks a year - more frequently than other trees in the Gardens.

NParks said it could not discuss the reasons for the tree toppling as police investigations were still ongoing.

But Mr Oh said: "Trees react to changes in environmental, site and soil conditions. Tree care can mitigate risks but healthy trees can be affected by strong wind gusts and rainfall.

"On top of mitigation, a preventive measure against poor weather is to plant the right tree species in the right place - for example some are not suitable to be planted in waterlogged areas. Another possible measure is to increase the drainage around an area which is prone to being waterlogged by rainfall," he added.

TREES INSPECTED REGULARLY: NPARKS

According to NParks, trees along expressways and major roads are inspected once every six to 12 months. Trees more than 4m in girth are also subject to yearly detailed second-level inspections.

This compares to ISA standards of an inspection every one to two years.

A second-level inspection can be of invasive nature and involve diagnostic equipment, versus a visual first-level check for defects and vitality.

A visual inspection process involves assessing the general condition, inspecting the root collar and roots, inspecting the trunk and inspecting the branches and crown.

Second-level checks employ a resistograph and tomography setup. The former sees a drill bit penetrate the wood to take readings, while the latter measures time taken for sound to travel though wood - the slower, the more decayed.

Tree care staff also undergo arborist certification exams within two to three years of service, said Mr Oh.

Other measures are taken to improve the general health of trees, such as routine mulching to supplement the regular fertilisers and pruning techniques to better their structure and balance.

Pruning is done for reasons such as tree health, vehicular height clearance and to control tree growth. Crown reduction for tall trees with dense crowns is necessary to improve its ability to withstand inclement weather, said Mr Oh. He added that pruning takes place prior to periods of more severe weather conditions such as squalls and monsoons.


Windy conditions on day of Tembusu tree accident 'not unusual': Met Service
Channel NewsAsia 14 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: It has been windy in Singapore the past week - something that is not unexpected as the National Environment Agency (NEA) had said in its latest advisory last Thursday (Feb 9) that there would be "windy conditions with widespread rain" on some days.

The weather conditions have prompted questions about whether they were a factor in toppling the large Tembusu tree at the Singapore Botanic Gardens last Saturday, which killed one person and injured four others. On Monday, a woman was sent to a hospital's intensive care unit after she was hit by a falling tree at Yuan Ching Road.

In response to queries, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said that on Feb 11 at about 4.30pm - around the time the Tembusu tree toppled - the wind sensor at Paya Lebar station, which is closest to the Botanic Gardens, recorded wind gusts of 27.8km/h.

That is lower than the 38.5km/h recorded earlier in the afternoon at about 2.20pm at the same weather station. These conditions are "not considered unusual", said MSS.

It added that strongest winds on Feb 11 were at East Coast Park, with the maximum wind gust at 58.3 km/h at around 5.30pm.

Experts told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday (Feb 14) that the strong winds are normal at this time of the year.

According to the National University of Singapore's Assistant Professor of Geography Winston Chow, February is usually the windiest month of the year so breezy conditions are expected islandwide.

"The windy conditions are due to a monsoon surge of strong winds coming from the South China Sea that started Saturday morning and should last until tomorrow at least," he explained, adding that some places may be windier depending on microsite conditions such as the presence of buildings or slopes.

A similar assessment was given by atmospheric scientist Koh Tieh Yong, an associate professor at SIM University. "This is a typical seasonal weather pattern, evidenced within the same period in the previous years," he said. "The monsoon surge condition typically lasts for a few days up to two weeks. So occasional windy conditions can be expected during this period."

The cause of the Tembusu tree fall is still being investigated by the National Parks Board. The tree had been inspected last September and was given a clean bill of health.

- CNA/gs

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1 dead, 4 injured after Tembusu tree falls at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Channel NewAsia 11 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: One person died on Saturday (Feb 11) after a massive Tembusu tree toppled at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, interrupting an event organised by the High Commission of Canada that was scheduled to start at 5pm.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident near the Symphony Stage at 4.25pm and that five people were taken to the National University Hospital.

The National Parks Board (NParks) confirmed in a statement at 8.32pm that one of the five had died. The agency also said it was investigating the cause of the tree falling.

"Our priority now is to accord assistance to the families of the deceased and the injured," it added in the statement.

Police said the person who died is a 38-year-old female Indian national who was there with her family. Her husband, a 39-year-old French national, and their two children, both aged one, suffered injuries.

The High Commission of Canada, in a post on Twitter, said it was "deeply saddened" by the death.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam called the incident a "terrible accident".

"Our deepest sympathies to the family of the person who was killed by the falling Tembusu tree at the Botanic Gardens this afternoon. Hope the four others injured will recover soon," Mr Tharman wrote on Facebook at about 10.40pm.

SOUNDED "LIKE THUNDER"

Eyewitness Jonathan Ang, who was there for the concert, said he was sitting at the open area away from most of the trees.

"Suddenly we heard a cracking sound, like thunder," he said.

Across the main path, a tree fell "within five seconds", taking another tree beside it down with it.

"There were easily a hundred of us that rushed forward to help push the branches, the logs away," he added, estimating that there were about four to six people under the "huge" tree when it fell.

According to the Singapore Botanic Gardens' website, the Tembusu tree - which was 40m tall with a girth of 6.5m - is estimated to be more than 270 years old and is the largest of its kind in the Gardens.

Mr Ang said that thankfully, there were not many people sitting in the area as it was under the sun. Most of those nearby also appeared to be unharmed - "except for one poor woman, I'm not sure if she made it ... She was unconscious and her husband was calling for her."

SCDF arrived within about five minutes, and paramedics appeared to be trying to revive the woman, he added.

SUNDAY'S EVENTS CANCELLED

A note posted on the Canada High Commission's Twitter account at 5.18pm said the Canada 150 concert had been cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances". The event was meant to countdown to the country's 150th birthday with a concert by renowned Canadian pianist Roger Lord and an opening performance by the Canadian International School’s Symphonic Band 9-12. Singaporean DJ duo Rave Republic was also at the Botanic Gardens.

When Channel NewsAsia arrived at the scene at about 5.45pm, police were seen on the site and the area had been cordoned off.

More than 20 workers were also seen clearing the branches from the toppled tree at about 6.15pm.

At about 6.30pm, SCDF added that it was working with NParks personnel in the search operation.

All programmes at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Sunday have been cancelled.

- CNA/mz


Botanic Gardens' Tembusu tree that fell last inspected in September: NParks
Melissa Zhu Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE: The heritage Tembusu tree that collapsed at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Saturday (Feb 11), killing one person and injuring four others, was last inspected and found to be healthy in September 2016, according to the National Park Board (NParks).

The 40m-tall tree was uprooted at the edge of Palm Valley in the Gardens, bringing down surrounding palm trees as it fell. The tree was more than 270 years old and predated the establishment of the Gardens, according to the authority.

NParks added that as a Singapore Botanic Gardens heritage tree, the tree was inspected twice a year - a higher frequency than other trees in the Gardens.

"The tree was also protected by a lightning conductor and fenced off to prevent compaction of its root zone by visitors. Leaf litter is routinely applied to the root zone to encourage healthy root growth," it said.

Tan Huan Arboriculture Services managing director Andy Tan said he would expect a tree this old to have been inspected every month, to ensure that issues such as fungi and termites do not set in.

Nonetheless, he said it was unlikely that fungi or termites were the cause of the incident. These issues could take up to one or two years to weaken such a big tree enough for it to fall, and tell-tale signs such as unhealthy leaves or termite tracks would be evident months before, according to Mr Tan.

The tree expert's opinion was that the most likely cause of the tree toppling was water-logging due to recent heavy rains. This could result in the surrounding soil loosening and the roots rotting. Strong winds during storms could have further exacerbated the problem, he added.

"Still, you would seldom see this for the Tembusu tree as they have very large roots ... their base is very strong."

NParks is investigating the cause of the tree falling.

- CNA/mz


Fallen Tembusu tree at Botanic Gardens kills 1, injures 4
Today Online 12 Feb 17;

SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old woman from India was killed and four others injured when a 40m tall Tembusu tree collapsed in the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Saturday afternoon (Feb 11), shortly before the start of a concert and movie screening.

The deceased's husband, a 39-year-old French national, and their two children, both aged one, were among the injured. A 26-year-old Singaporean woman was also hurt during the incident, the police said.

The tree, which had a 6.5m girth, was uprooted at 4.25pm at the edge of the Palm Valley in the Botanic Gardens, near the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, the Nationals Parks Board (NParks) said in a statement.

"We are investigating the cause of the tree fall. Our priority now is to accord assistance to the families of the deceased and the injured," said Mr Kenneth Er, chief executive officer of NParks.

According to NParks, the tree that fell was more than 270 years old and predated the establishment of the Gardens. It was last inspected in September last year and was found to be healthy.

"As an SBG Heritage tree, it was inspected twice a year, which is of a higher frequency than other trees in the Gardens," said Mr Er. "The tree was also protected by a lightning conductor and fenced off to prevent compaction of its root zone by visitors. Leaf litter is routinely applied to the root zone to encourage healthy root growth."

The fallen Tembusu tree brought down several surrounding palm trees during the incident. The injured were taken to the National University Hospital on Saturday. The extent of their injurires are unclear.

In a Facebook post, the High Commission of Canada in Singapore expressed sympathy for the friends and families of the injured, adding: "We are sincerely grateful to those who came so quickly to the aid of those injured."

The High Commission had organised the event to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday through music and film. It was due to start at 5pm.

An eyewitness video posted on social media showed park goers rushing to the aid of what appeared to be victims trapped by the fallen tree. The SCDF said it sent two fire engines, one Red Rhino, one Fire Bike, four ambulances and two support vehicles to the scene.


Following the incident, the Singapore Botanic Gardens announced that all programmes scheduled at the park on Sunday have been cancelled. Events scheduled in the park on Sunday include a Valentines' Day musical performance at the Bandstand.

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Malaysia: Receding waters leave vector-borne diseases in their wake

JO TIMBUONG The Star 12 Feb 17;

PETALING JAYA: As floodwaters recede for the season, the danger may not be over yet for those affected.

This is because the muddy waters leave in their wake health threats brought by water- and vector-borne diseases such as respiratory tract infection, gastroenteritis and even leptospirosis.

While the Health Department has been able to take steps to keep such threats from recent floods under control, Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam confirmed that there had since been three cases of leptospirosis in Kelantan.

Although the department did not release any death statistics from diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery, it is greatly concerned about these illnesses that could cause death.

“These diseases are caused by consuming contaminated water and food, which is why it is important to use potable water for personal hygiene and food preparation,” said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

A multitude of water-borne diseases brought in by floodwaters, he said, were a result of contamination from broken sewage systems, animal wastes and chemical pollution.

However, compared with those after the big floods that swept the east coast states in 2014, the number of post-flood disease cases has been significantly lower.

According to the department, there was a drastic reduction in cases such as acute gastroenteritis (AGE), acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) and leptospirosis (rat urine disease) in the recent floods that started in early Decem­ber.

The number of ARI cases dropped from 8,276 in 2014 to 1,439 in the current period, while there were only 162 cases of AGE this season compared to 1,062 then.

Statistics also showed that there were 379 leptospirosis cases in flood-hit areas during the 2014 disaster while it was only recently confirmed by the minister there were three this season.

Dr Noor Hisham said most of the communicable diseases encountered during the recent floods were isolated cases of ARI and skin infection but there had been no outbreak of cholera or dengue.

He linked the drop in cases to the preventive measures carried out by the health department before, during and after the floods.

One of them was to treat flood victims at evacuation centres and at the same time conduct early detection of any communicable diseases.

The team also inspected facilities for food preparation and monitored wells and sanitation.

“The education programme on how to prevent communicable diseases also helped,” he added.


Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/12/postflood-dangers-still-lurk-receding-waters-leave-vectorborne-diseases-in-their-wake/#IRAOjDXyRwHKePmG.99

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Malaysia: Penang reclamation - Fishermen upset as last patch of mangroves cleared for development

New Straits Times 12 Feb 17;

GEORGE TOWN: The last remaining mangroves along the northern coast of Penang island look set to be wiped out to make way for development.

Fishermen from Bagan Jermal here had complained that an area of nearly 10ha of mangroves, or more than 10 football fields, was being cleared to make way for a reclamation project.

A signboard with the words “Lesen Mengambil Hasil Hutan” (Licence to collect forest product) has been put up at the entrance of the project site.

Fisherman Harun Abdul Rashid, 53, told the New Sunday Times that fishermen used to catch crabs, fishes and white prawns in the mangroves.

However, he said, the mangroves had been inaccessible for almost two years.

“There used to be a long stretch of mangroves, stretching from Bagan Jermal right up to Tanjung Tokong. Now, the only patch of mangroves is set to make way for development.

“What will become of the fishermen? As it is, there is very little marine life left on our coast. With the mangroves being cleared, we dread to imagine what would happen in future,” he said at his house in Kampung Nelayan, Tanjung Tokong.

Harun said his grandfather and father used to fish near the mangroves.

“When I started out 40 years ago, I could easily bring home between RM2,000 and RM3,000 in my daily catch.

“These days, I can’t even make RM300 going out to sea for two straight days.

“Also, I used to bring home between 30kg and 40kg of crabs per trip from the mangroves. Now, I hardly get 2kg,” he lamented.

Fishermen from Tanjung Tokong took their plight to their Facebook page, Nelayan Tanjung Tokong, to express their unhappiness.

“The mangroves are a habitat for flora and fauna. The mangroves, along with mudflats along Gurney Drive, serve as a landing site for migratory birds.

“Imagine the impact of its clearing on the environment,” the group said.

Consumers’ Association of Penang expressed its disappointment that the mangroves in the state continued to be felled although there had been many protests, especially by fishermen.

Its president, S.M. Mohamed Idris, said the ongoing clearing showed that the state government was not serious in protecting the environment and the lives of the people, particularly fishermen.

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Malaysia: Protect Rafflesia by educating tourists

SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH New Straits Times 11 Feb 17;

KOTA BARU: MALAYSIA is host to several species of the Rafflesia, known in Bahasa Malaysia as bunga pakma, which is recognised as the biggest flower in the world. Unfortunately, the number of Rafflesia is dwindling and the flower is under threat now.

In the peninsula, Rafflesia kerrii, said to be the biggest among the group of unique flowers, is found only in Lojing Highlands in Gua Musang, Kelantan.

The rarity of the species has led to a flow of enthusiasts, especially foreigners, to visit the sites of the endangered flower. But sometimes, tourists trample on the host plant or young buds when trying to get a closer look at, or to take pictures of, the flowers.

Kelantan Forestry Department director Datuk Zahari Ibrahim said the department had received information on the threat posed by visitors who stopped by while on their way to Cameron Highlands, or enroute to Pulau Perhentian in Terengganu, especially at Pos Jedik, which was part of the Lojing Permanent Forest Reserve.

“Some tourists step on the buds and host plants without realising the damage.

“It should not happen in the first place because the Rafflesia Kerri is among the state’s tourism products, and all parties, including travel agents, must play their role in keeping the flower safe,” he said.

Zahari said to protect the plant under the High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) management plan for the Rafflesia kerri species, the state government had decided to fence 18 plots on a 50ha land at the forest reserve, from which visitors would be barred from entering.

He added that the department’s rangers would carry out surveillance at the reserve, which would be turned into a Rafflesia preservation area.

“Our surveillance will include checking on host plants. The Rafflesia depends on its host for food.”

Zahari said under the HCVF plan, the Kelantan government would allocate RM120,000 for forest development, including setting up fences and guard huts.
Besides being threatened by tourists, Rafflesia was also under threat due to rampant land clearing.

Alhough the Kelantan government had in 2009 gazetted 550ha of the highlands as an area for the conservation of the flower, the worsening situation is worrying nature lovers as no monitoring group had been set up.

There was uncontrolled opening of land for farming around the area in 2008, which had damaged the environment and caused several rivers to be polluted.

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) is conducting a study on Rafflesia at Lojing Highlands to find out its growth rate and to ensure the survival of the species.

The dean of UMK’s Natural Resources and Sustainability Science department, Zulhazman Hamzah, said the university was aware of the threats and had taken necessary measures to help the authorities.

“The tourism sector is a likely contributor to the destruction of the Rafflesia’s habitat,” he said.

He said the university also started awareness campaigns to educate the Orang Asli and other communities in the state about the preservation of the flower.

“We have been promoting the Rafflesia as a tourist attraction in Lojing Highlands for some time now.

“This provides the Orang Asli more job opportunities as they can work as tour guides.

“We also give talks and share our knowledge with state government departments, local agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the flower’s recovery and its potential to help the people through eco-tourism activities.”

He said UMK’s study on Rafflesia in Lojing Highlands started in 2008 and was still ongoing. Its latest study, he said, was on the odour released by the flower to attract insects during its pollination process.

“A special team to study Rafflesia was set up in 2010, led by myself, with the assistance of several agencies and departments, such as the Forestry Department and Lojing sub-district Land Office,” he said, adding that the Rafflesia needed to be looked after as it was a priceless treasure.


'Touching Rafflesia with hands may cause them to wilt or die'
SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH New Straits Times 11 Feb 17;

KOTA BARU: Tour guide Bukhari Mat, who often escorts tourists to Lojing Highlands, said he had seen tourists causing damage to the Rafflesia.

Bukhari, 37, who has been in the business since 1996, said, however, none of his clients were involved as he had briefed them on the do’s and don’ts before visiting the Rafflesia sites.

“My real expertise is in bringing visitors to Gunong Stong (at the border of Jeli-Kuala Krai-Gua Musang) but I also go to Lojing Highlands if there are requests.

“l have seen tourists brought by other agents touching the Rafflesia with their hands when they wanted to take pictures,” said Bukhari, who is popularly called Bob.

He said he normally took between 10 and 15 visitors on each trip to Lojing Highlands.

The tour guide, who is also the vice-president of the Kelantan Licensed Tourist Guides Association, said the Rafflesia was a sensitive species and touching it would definitely cause damage to the flower.

“The bacteria on our hands may cause the flower to wilt or die. Therefore, tour guides should explain the do’s and don’ts to their clients before they enter the area,” said Bukhari, who operates Stong Outdoors and Adventures based in Gua Musang.

Another tour guide, known only as Kimi, said tourists should not harm the Rafflesia as it was a rare species.

“The flower is valuable to us. When the government decided to gazette the area for the Rafflesia, many of us, especially the tour guides, were happy.

“We felt that the decision should have been made a long time ago,” he said.

The 41-year-old part-time guide, who has been in the job for more than 10 years, said the tourism business was important as it boosted the state’s economy and brought more job opportunities for the people.

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Best of our wild blogs: 11 Feb 17

Changi Creek one month after oil spill, with otter!
wild shores of singapore

Changi Creek mangroves one month after the oil spill
wild shores of singapore

Changi Beach one month after the oil spill
wild shores of singapore

Bleaching at Changi seagrass meadows one month after the oil spill
wild shores of singapore


Singapore Bird Report-January 2017
Singapore Bird Group

"Unseen Undergrowth: MacRitchie Rainforest Singapore" at Earthfest 2017
Cicada Tree Eco-Place

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Don't give rocky shores a wide berth

Audrey Tan Straits Times 10 Feb 17;

Singapore may wear a concrete crown but it has a necklace of greens and blues along its coast.

Some of the natural habitats, like coral reefs and sandy beaches, are generally well studied.

But the same cannot be said for rocky shores, which can be found in places such as the Labrador Nature Reserve and Pulau Ubin.

But last month, Professor Stephen Hawkins, an expert on rocky shores from the University of Southampton in Britain, was in Singapore to speak about these habitats, in hopes of spurring greater scientific interest in them.

Formed when waves erode rocks along the shore, rocky shores are a landscape of bedrock platforms and large boulders dotted with nooks and crannies where critters such as crabs like to hide.

The rocks also provide a good substrate for barnacles and mussels to latch on to.

Such habitats make up between 60 and 70 per cent of the world's coastal areas, said Prof Hawkins, who was in town under the National University of Singapore (NUS) Society Professorship programme.

However, though rocky shores are widely studied in temperate regions, there is scant data on them and how they function in the tropics, he added.

This is not surprising, considering the multitude of other marine habitats in this part of the world, said Prof Hawkins.

The great diversity and "nice and warm" waters here make the study of other habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves attractive options, he said.

But up north, where waters are cold, researchers like Prof Hawkins prefer to stay on land instead.

For him, rocky shore habitats were a good compromise between land and sea.

"I love them, they are so beautiful and diverse, with plenty of seaweeds, barnacles and mussels," said Prof Hawkins, who was the former director of the Plymouth Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

But other than being treasure troves of marine biodiversity, rocky shore habitats can also be useful indicators of climate change - increasingly erratic weather caused by heat-trapping greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.

Prof Hawkins' work in Plymouth in south-western England has already demonstrated this.

Using seawater temperature data that goes back to the 1870s, he found that as sea surface temperature fluctuates, so does the composition of barnacle species on the rocky shores. The shores have been studied since the 1950s.

Britain undergoes cycles of warmer and cooler weather.

In the 1950s, for example, Britain experienced warming sea-surface temperatures, which corresponded with increasing numbers of the Chthamalus species - barnacles that thrive in warm water.

There was a cooler period between the 1960s and the 1980s, when there was a resurgence of another barnacle species, Semibalanus, also called the northern species of barnacles.

These cyclical patterns appear throughout the 60-year data set.

However, Prof Hawkins noted that warming from 1988 till 2014 has increased at a rate much faster than before, leading to a proliferation of the warm-water Chthamalus.

"My initial thought was that it was a typical fluctuation of the cycle, but then the rate of warming was much faster, and sea-surface temperatures are also warmer than before," he said.

Sea-surface temperatures had fluctuated between 12.5 deg C and about 13 deg C since the 1870s.

However, they hit a high of 13.7 deg C around 2010, Prof Hawkins noted.

If the trend continues, this may eventually result in dwindling numbers of the more productive northern species of barnacles.

These barnacles grow densely and as a consequence they form a good place for the early stages of seaweeds to grow.

These species of seaweeds are also northern and thrive in cold water, and will do less well in a warmer world.

Seaweeds are primary producers and form the base of the food chain in rocky shore habitats.

Tropical rocky shores can be a useful indicator of climate change, he said.

But, first, long-term data on the habitat is needed.

The good news is that researchers under Associate Professor Peter Todd, from the NUS Science Faculty's Biological Sciences Department, are embarking on projects to learn more about these habitats.

One research project involves the monitoring of a few rocky shore sites on Singapore's southern islands to look for the effects of climate change.

Researchers have created a list of about 50 easily identifiable species to track over time .

Examples include certain species of top shells, barnacles and brown algae known as sargassum.

"Using well-known species and keeping the methodology relatively simple will help ensure the long-term success of sustained observation as it is expected that different people will conduct the work over the years," said Prof Todd.

The methodology would most likely include processes such as quadrat sampling, which will see scientists searching for the organisms within a fixed area, as well as taking high-quality photographs and notes on the features of the site.

NUS Professor Leo Tan noted that Singapore has few rocky shores to begin with.

As these were ideal for industrialisation and shore reclamation works, they disappeared relatively quickly before detailed studies could be carried out, he said.

He spent 40 years fighting for the preservation of Labrador Park, which has rocky shore habitats, and succeeded in 2002, when it was gazetted a nature reserve.

Prof Todd said: "If we are to learn how to better manage these ecosystems, we first need to know what is there."

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Malaysia: Elephants lost 70pc of territory to human encroachment – study

A. Azim Idris Asian Correspondent 10 Feb 17;

ELEPHANTS in Malaysia have lost nearly 70 percent of their roaming territory in human-dominated landscapes in the country over the past 35 years, according to a study on the “alarming rate” of encroachment into wildlife territory.

Caroline Christine Russell, council member of the the Sime Darby Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Malaysia-based multinational conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad, said the research carried out by the Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) project also recorded significant findings on the behaviour and ecology of the Asian elephant in forested areas of Malaysia, as well as their interactions with people.

“Unfortunately, we still do not know well their distribution in non-human dominated landscapes, such as forest reserves and protected areas,” she said during the MEME funding extension announcement earlier this week.

“We need urgent solutions and initiatives to stop the decrease of wildlife populations in Malaysia, including elephants, before it is too late. We also need better baseline data to monitor the status of their population in the long term,” she said.

She said alarmingly, conservationists started the new year with jarring news of the poaching of two Pygmy Elephants roaming protected areas in the eastern state of Sabah.

Last month, she pointed out, Indonesian authorities seized ivory worth RM30,000 (US$6,700) in North Kalimantan, believed to be from Malaysia.

“Poaching appears to be an emerging threat to the Asian elephant population in Malaysia, a grave concern for all,” she said.

She added that there is a vital need for increased patrolling and law enforcement to curb the poaching threat.

“We all have to work together to achieve this objective, which is to save our elephants,” she said.

In an effort to save the gentle giants, the foundation is extending support for the MEME project with a RM1.9 million commitment for another three years from January this year until December 2019.

The foundation said this is the sixth year of support for the MEME project to preserve Asian elephants in Malaysia. YSD first sponsored the MEME project in January 2012, committing RM3.36 million until December 2016.

The project is headed by University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences Associate Professor Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz with assistance from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan).

Dr Campos-Arceiz said the extended sponsorship will assist MEME to fund their research team, field equipment as well as field operations.

“Since 2011, MEME is generating a large amount of novel information on the ecology and conservation of elephants in Peninsular Malaysia, including information on the distribution of elephants in human-dominated landscapes, elephant diet and movements in fragmented landscapes, their ecological importance for the maintenance of forest ecosystems, and the effectiveness of different strategies for the mitigation of human-elephant conflicts.

“This extended sponsorship is very important for MEME because it will allow us to complete our ongoing research as well as use this newly generated information to advise policy-makers and create public awareness for the conservation of these magnificent animals in Malaysia,” he said.

Professor Claire O’Malley, UNMC’s Vice-Provost for Research, said: “The University of Nottingham is proud of MEME, one of our most visible and potentially impactful research projects.”

SEE ALSO: When old isn’t gold: Unready Malaysia to struggle as population ages

One of MEME’s objectives is capacity building and training the next generation of elephant researchers and conservationists in Malaysia, which has been made possible through YSD’s funding.

UNMC student Dr Ee Phin Wong recently obtained her PhD for the non-invasive study of stress in wild elephant. Dr Wong is now Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

Two other students – Hii Ning and Ange Tan – have received their Masters in Research for the study of elephant social behaviour and distribution, respectively. By the end of 2019, it is expected that MEME will have trained five PhD and three post graduates by Research Malaysian students.

The team has also played an important role in the drafting of the Malaysian National Conservation and Action Plan (NECAP), which was launched in 2013, and is one of the key members of MyGajah, the steering committee that oversees NECAP’s implementation.

Under its environment pillar, to date, the foundation has committed RM130 million towards the protection of high conservation value ecosystems, vulnerable and endangered species as well as initiatives promoting the preservation of the environment and biodiversity.

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Indonesia: Sumbawa declares state of emergency, as floods affect 20,000

Panca Nugraha The Jakarta Post 11 Feb 17;

Floods and strong winds in several districts in Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara, have affected more than 6,000 families, prompting the administration to call for emergency measures.

West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Muhammad Rum, said Friday flooding occurred following heavy rain and strong winds from Tuesday to Thursday.

“Sumbawa regency has been hit by floods again. Not only floods but also strong winds and landslides in several parts of the regency. The administration has declared a state of emergency,” he said.

There had been no fatalities reported but 6,253 families or 21,243 people were affected by the floods, which reach 50 to 100 centimeters.

Strong winds hit a village in Batulanteh district, damaging several houses.

Rum said several locations along the road from Setonggo to Batu Dulang experienced landslides. (evi)

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Australia battles 50 fires in heat wave, sparking warning, blackout fears

Channel NewsAsia 11 Feb 17;

SYDNEY: Australian emergency services were bracing against "potentially catastrophic" fire conditions on Saturday, as firefighters battled nearly 50 blazes in the state of New South Wales, sweltering in a heat wave sweeping the country's east coast.

Weather officials fear temperatures could hit 48 degrees C (118.4 F) in some areas, setting a record for the state's hottest February day ever. People have been banned from setting fires, and some major sports events have been cancelled.

"It's not just another summer's day. This is as bad as it gets," Shane Fitzimmons, rural fire chief in the state, which was already battling 49 bush or grass fires by midafternoon, told reporters.

"The catastrophic ratings are what we could describe as beyond the conventional scale."

Thousands of people flocked to Sydney’s beaches to cool off, prompting warnings from lifeguards to stay close to shore and take precautions against the sun.

"We want people to be aware of signs of heat stress," a spokesman for the state's lifeguard service told Reuters. "The number one message for people is to stay hydrated, it’s crucial on a day like today."

The extreme heat roiling out of Australia’s desert interior will also push temperatures in the northeastern state of Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), home to the capital, Canberra, to uncomfortable levels on the weekend.

Temperatures hit 47 C (117 F) in parts of New South Wales and ACT on Friday, putting pressure on the electricity grid and prompting plans by authorities to suspend supply in some areas.

Late on Friday, the Australian Energy Market Operator said the prospect of blackouts had been averted as the state cut back consumption.

But with similar gruelling weather expected over the weekend, residents cannot relax vigilance on power use, a spokeswoman for the body said on Saturday.

Businesses that halted operations to conserve energy included a paper mill, water treatment operations and Australia's largest aluminum smelter, Tomago. Many industrial users have contracts requiring them to take such action.

Racing officials in Sydney, Australia's largest city, postponed the Royal Randwick Race Meeting over fears for the animals' wellbeing in the heat.

New South Wales sports officials cancelled some Rugby League junior representative matches and all grades of cricket matches.

A weather change on Sunday may offer a breather, said Peter Zmijewski, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology.

"For quite a few weeks, nights have been coming warmer and we haven’t had any changes to blow the heat away," Zmijewski told Reuters. "We may break this pattern tomorrow and Monday.”

(Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

- Reuters


Australia heat wave causes firms to power down but blackouts avoided
Channel NewsAsia 10 Feb 17;

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE: Major energy users in Australia shut down on Friday, and the public were asked not to go home and cook or watch television, averting big blackouts amid strained supplies as an extreme heat wave moved from the desert interior to the east coast.

The temperature climbed to 47 Celsius (117 Fahrenheit) in parts of New South Wales (NSW) state and the Australian Capital Territory on Friday, while Saturday is expected to see a record for the hottest February day on record.

The extreme heat caused power prices to soar to an unprecedented AUS$14,000 (£8,558) per megawatt-hour (MWh) as power stations struggle to meet skyrocketing demand for cooling.

Authorities had been preparing to temporarily suspend power to selected areas of New South Wales late on Friday to prevent overload just days after 40,000 homes and businesses lost electricity in the state of South Australia.

But the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said late on Friday tight power supply conditions had subsided for the day, without power cuts to residents.

"AEMO can confirm that residential load shedding was not required at any point throughout the day ... predominantly due to reduced electricity consumption across the state," it said in a statement.

Earlier, NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin urged households and businesses to save electricity.

"Rather than going straight home and turning on the television and cooking, (you might) want to consider going to a movie, going out to a shopping centre, keeping the load low, every bit like that helps," Harwin told reporters in Sydney.

A paper mill, water treatment operations and Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Tomago, were among businesses that halted operations to conserve energy, with many industrial users required to do so under their contracts.

The Tomago smelter, which exports to Southeast Asia, Japan and China, is the single largest consumer of electricity in NSW and is jointly owned by Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto and Oslo-based Norsk Hydro.

TOO HOT FOR ICE CREAM

Weather forecaster Olenka Duma said a build-up of heat in the vast interior outback was being pushed east across NSW, the country's most populous state.

"It was like the windows and doors were closed for a long time, and now a weather front has dragged the hot air here," Duma, an official of the Bureau of Meteorology, told Reuters.

It was even too hot for ice cream.

"I'm not doing any business today, I'm just sitting in the air-conditioning at home," said Ned Qutami, owner of six mobile ice cream bars in Sydney.

"People at the beach are either in the water or heading home. No one is hanging around to eat ice cream," said Qutami, who runs Sydney Ice Cream & Coffee in beachside suburbs.

The intense heat and power outages have sparked debate over energy security, after the market operator told power companies in South Australia state on Wednesday to switch off some customers' power supply for a short spell to manage demand.

South Australia depends on wind for more than a third of its power supply, and the wind died down at the same time as people started cranking up air-conditioners.

That was the latest in a string of power disruptions and electricity price spikes to hit the southern state, including a state-wide blackout that forced copper mines, smelters and a steel plant to shut for up to two weeks last September.

The problems have sparked a review of the national electricity market and energy policy on how to cope with rapid growth of wind and solar power and the closure of coal-fired power plants that have been essential for steady supply.

(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett and Sonali Paul. Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne.; Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel)

- Reuters


Australia warns of 'catastrophic' fire conditions amid heatwave
Channel NewsAsia 12 Feb 17;

SYDNEY: Australian authorities ordered the evacuation of some sparsely populated rural areas of New South Wales on Sunday (Feb 12) as bushfires, fanned by extreme heat and strong winds, raged across the state, threatening homes and closing roads.

A heat wave on Australia's east coast saw temperatures hit records in some parts of the state, creating conditions that officials said were worse than those preceding Victoria's 2009 "Black Saturday" fires, Australia's worst bush fire event that killed 173 people.

"This is the worst day we have seen in the history of New South Wales when it comes to fire danger ratings and fire conditions," Shane Fitzsimmons, the state's rural fire chief, told reporters.

"They are catastrophic, they are labelled catastrophic for a reason, they are rare, they are infrequent, and to put it simply, they are off the old conventional scale.

"It's not another summer's day. It's not another bad fire weather day. This is as bad as it gets in these circumstances."

The areas hit by fires are hundreds of kilometres from Sydney, the state capital.

Fitzsimmons said there were unconfirmed reports of homes, farm sheds and machinery being destroyed by fast-moving fires breaking containment lines.

There were no reports of injuries, but some firefighters were suffering from heat-related issues.

By Sunday afternoon, emergency warnings were issued for five rural areas. People were told to evacuate if they could, or seek shelter and avoid bush or grassland where it was too late to leave.

More than 2,000 firefighters, many of them volunteers, were battling 86 fires across New South Wales on Sunday afternoon, with 38 of them not under control.

A 13-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were charged on Sunday for allegedly starting fires.

Temperatures climbed above 45 degrees Celsius in some parts. Dry and hot northwesterly winds coming from Australia's desert centre, some up to 75 kilometres an hour, were fanning the bushfires.

A southerly wind change associated with a cold front was forecast to arrive by early evening, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Fitzsimmons said the front would eventually offer relief, but would create volatile conditions as it met the northwesterly flow.

Since Friday, heat wave conditions caused cancellation of major sporting events and put pressure on the electricity grid.

A paper mill, water treatment operations and Australia's largest aluminium smelter, Tomago, were among businesses halting operations to conserve energy on Friday.

While bushfires are common in Australia's arid summer, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.

Australia has warmed by approximately 1.0 C since 1910, according to the biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science body CSIRO released in October.

The number of days each year that post temperatures of more than 35C was increasing in recent decades except in northern Australia, the report said.

Meanwhile, rainfall has reduced by 19 percent between May to July in southwestern Australia since 1970.

- Agencies/dt

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Malaysia: Uncertain weather leads to unusually heavy rainfall

AHMAD FAIRUZ OTHMAN New Straits Times 9 Feb 17;

When most villagers in Segamat district were busy cleaning their flood-devastated homes, labourer Razak Komeng, 64, and his family could only watch helplessly as their kampung house at the edge of Kampung Bukit Senggir remained inundated.

“When it rains heavily, my house will be the first to get flooded and the last to dry out when waters recede,” he said.

The village is between Sungai Muar and Sungai Kenawar, and the large volume of water that was making its way downstream from Buloh Kasap got trapped in the low-lying plot of land where Razak’s home is.

It was frustrating to look at when waters had receded at Razak’s neighbour’s single-storey bungalow, which was on higher ground.

“It was the same during the last big flood in 2011. My house remained flooded for a month, while my neighbours had begun moving back in,” he said when he checked on his home with his wife, Faridah Biru, 56, a week ago.

Razak and Faridah were among thousands who were evacuated from their homes as floods wreaked havoc in eight districts in Johor last month.

At the height of the disaster on Jan 25, more than 9,000 people were evacuated to temporary relief centres in eight districts. It has been two weeks since the floods began, but the effects are still evident.

The last 30 evacuees, from six families, who were housed at a relief centre in Balai Raya Batu Badak, Segamat, returned home at 3pm yesterday. They were not allowed to return home earlier because much of the area was either inundated or covered in 10cm of mud.

Experts are looking into the cause of the disaster. Uncertain weather patterns greatly contributed to the floods this time. There was a record amount of rainfall in the worst-hit district of Segamat in the first two days of the flood.

Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said 432mm of rainfall was recorded in Segamat on Jan 23 and Jan 24, which was when floodwaters began to rise in the district.

It was among the highest rainfall for a continuous period since the last big floods in Johor in January 2011. At the time, Segamat recorded about 500mm of rainfall in just two days.

The data being gathered by the authorities will provide clues to understanding the change in weather.

Irregular rainfall patterns must be looked into, and the dry spell that Johor experienced in the past two years must also be factored in.

A source told the New Straits Times that the huge amount of rainfall in Segamat in the first two days of the floods was a pattern that was supposed to occur once in 120 years.

“With climate change, much of the weather patterns that experts are familiar with are no longer relevant.”

“In the last two years, some areas in Johor received a fraction of the rainfall it was supposed to receive. But this year, some areas recorded large amounts of rainfall in only two days.”

The Johor government had made early preparations for the floods in December. There were warning systems, such as the alarms set up by the Drainage and Irrigation Department at rivers in Kota Tinggi to warn villagers that waters were rising. These methods made a big difference and saved many lives and property.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin has directed local councils and district offices to study the recent floods and reexamine flood-prone areas. The data would be passed to agencies such as the Department of Environment, Drainage and Irrigation Department and National Disaster Management Agency.

Ahmad Fairuz Othman is NST Johor bureau chief. When not working, he loves driving along the coastal highway and trunk roads of Johor. A lover of food, music and theatre, he recommends everyone to try Johor’s version of 'ais kacang', which is drenched in chocolate sauce


Be wary of strong winds and big waves in east coast, Johor folks told
YEE XIANG YUN The Star 9 Feb 17;

JOHOR BARU: Although all flood relief centres in Johor have been closed, the state government has reminded the public to be wary of strong winds and big waves in east Johor.

State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said strong winds of 40-50km/h and high tides reaching a height of 3.5m are expected in the east of Johor as well as Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

He said the situation would go on from Feb 11 to Feb 14 according to the Meteorological Department.

"The strong winds and choppy seas could pose a danger to small boats and those engaging in water sports and recreational activities by the sea," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Popular beach and sea activity spots such as Mersing and Desaru are located on Johor's east coast.

During the floods in January, more than 8,100 flood victims in Johor were forced to evacuate their homes and seek shelter at the 73 relief centres statewide.

Segamat was the worst affected area with 27 flood relief centres followed by districts like Tangkak, Kota Tinggi and Mersing.

Flood relief centres eventually closed as the water receded. The last evacuation centre, at the Batu Badak hall in Segamat, was closed at 3pm on Feb 8.


Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/02/09/be-wary-of-strong-winds-and-big-waves-in-east-coast-johor-folks-told/#sZh8LEIlgSEyFhKK.99

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