Flood forecasting programme a washout, say Taman Sri Muda folk

 

In December 2021, Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam experienced severe flooding which killed over a dozen people and inflicted millions of ringgit in damage.

PETALING JAYA: Flood victims in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, have expressed dissatisfaction with Phase 1 of the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Programme (PRAB) covering river basins in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang, calling it a waste of funds.

Taman Sri Muda, a township in the capital of Selangor, experienced severe flooding in December 2021 which left over a dozen dead and millions of ringgit in damage.

While Putrajaya had allocated RM145 million for the first phase of PRAB, the recent auditor-general’s report revealed that the programme’s forecasting accuracy was at just 5.6%, with a limited capability to issue warnings two days in advance.

Aimi Latiff, a former Taman Sri Muda resident, said the investment in a programme with an accuracy rate of only 5.6% was a waste of money.

“Of course it’s not worth it (because) so much money is wasted.

“You should just spend the money on real mitigation issues,” Aimi said to FMT, adding that the community was now taking the initiative to curb flash floods without relying heavily on government intervention.

Siti Aisyah, another flood victim from Taman Sri Muda, said that despite the annual announcements of funds for flood management, there had been no apparent progress or effective use of the money.

“The funds have just been wasted. If efforts had genuinely been made, the public would definitely have noticed them.

“We feel hopeless (about the programme) and have been left confused,” said Siti.

Nithia Prasad, a flood victim from Penang’s Kampung Rawa, said Malaysia should adopt flood management strategies similar to those of Singapore, such as constructing flood protection barriers to better prepare for heavy rainstorms and flash floods.

‘Need to do better’

Faizal Parish Abdullah, director of environmental protection organisation Global Environment Centre, said he was disappointed at PRAB’s 5.6% accuracy rate.

“Certainly, a better system is needed,” he told FMT, adding that the problem lay in the changing climate which caused an increase in rapid and extreme weather events.

“When you have extreme events, several of which we have experienced in the past two years, predicting them becomes much more difficult, especially their severity and sometimes their precise locations.

“This is one of the major challenges that JPS and their consultants currently face,” Faizal said, referring to the irrigation and drainage department which coordinates and supervises the programme.

He also advised the authorities responsible for developing the system to clearly explain the challenges they face and work to maintain public confidence.

“We need to do better than 5.6% accuracy,” he said.

PRAB is slated for execution in three phases, the first of which began in 2015 and is expected to continue until 2024, concentrating on the river basins of Sungai Kelantan, Sungai Terengganu and Sungai Pahang.

The development of Phase 2 commenced in 2018, encompassing 38 river basins throughout the nation. It is scheduled for completion by 2025.

JPS is planning to broaden the scope of PRAB to include additional river basins in Sabah and Sarawak in its third phase. - FMT