Disaster and responsibility

DECEMBER 2021 will mark one of the worst floods in Malaysian history. More importantly, it was the relief management between members of public and flood victims that left the nation perplexed. This disaster also highlighted the failure of the government in ulitilising digital platforms for communication and rescue.

This flood also brought forward the issue of deteriorating natural capital (environment) that used to be a flood buffer. Change in land use and allegation of converting a flood mitigation location into a township surfaced. Missing pump at a water gate that slowed down flood water clearing was highlighted. Perhaps, one of the most important lessons is that entourages of VIPs are actually taking up space that could have been used to rescue flood victims and ferry food supplies.

In war, a great general will strategise his army to subdue the enemy. He does not need to engage the enemy in person. This is the management skill that is lacking.

The water minister blamed the public for not taking seriously the heavy rainfall warning issued by Meteorological Department. But what did he and his ministry do with the warning? What were the results of simulation modelling using the expensive software and supercomputers for weather and floods?

The aftermath of recent flood will further hamper the economic growth that was already badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Destroyed infrastructure and properties need to be repaired and replaced, which will cause more expenditure. The business sector has not been spared from the disaster as some industrial zones were seen inundated under water.

Land use falls under state government jurisdiction and failure to prevent flooding must be the responsibility of state governments via local authorities.

There are seasonal floods that occur at different times and do not appear annually like the monsoon season. In addition to that, there is a strong possibility that climate change may increase the severity and frequency of such weather conditions in years to come. This is where we need clear policy and planning to carry out adaptation and mitigation that covers both flood and drought conditions for an equatorial climate. We also need to keep in mind that a similar-strength dry season will increase forest fire risks, which has a similar or worse multitudes than floods.

There is an urgent and immediate need for us to predict floods, drought and other possible extreme weather conditions to ensure proper mitigation actions can be put in place. The government must form a task force to simulate past erratic weather and current flood situations. This simulation is to predict changes in weather patterns and to identify if there are any impact from climate change and the degree of interference.

The first possible result would be a predictable pattern of change. If there is a clear pattern, it will assist in estimating mitigation project design with a recommended safety factor. Similarly, if there is no direct pattern, it will lead to high-cost mitigation measures as well as resettlement of high-risk zones to new locations.

Once high-risk zones are identified, infrastructure of ultilities (such as water, electricity and telecommunications), roads and public buildings can be redeveloped to meet possible threats and minimise impact. Secondly, businesses can upgrade their operations to meet such threats by either relocating the operation or place equipment that is vulnerable in a safer location. Thirdly, town planning and relocation of high-risk settlements can be carried out.

In order to fight climate change, the government must engage in tangible activities such as this compared to carbon trading scam schemes. Until the government and its machinery learn how to carry out real and pragmatic solutions to fight climate change and environmental degradation, the nation will always be vulnerable to the elements.

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” - Sun Tzu

This article was contributed by Piarapakaran S, president of the Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer), a non-government organisation involved in research and development in the fields of water, energy and environment.

Source: The Sun Daily

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