EMDV8124 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management: Malaysia Floods

Imagine you have been asked to write a detailed review of an incident for a response and relief agency. The questions posed are; “

1. Were they prepared
2. Did they manage it welland

3. Did they recover well?

Choos of the following disasters

• 2017 Malaysia Floods
• 2017 Chile forest fires
• 2016 floods and severe weather Turkey
• 2016 Earthquake Italy

1. A description of the event .
2. An analysis of how the event was managed and if that management accorded with the principles of effective disaster management throughout the cycle of preparedness, response and recovery.
3. A discussion of how the lessons learned (both what went well and what did not go well) may be applied in the future

Answer:

Introduction

The worst natural disaster that gets experienced in Malaysia is flooding. Malaysia has 187 basins from rivers with the main tributaries heading to the sea located in China. More than 29800 km² that is directly proportional to the 9% of the total area in Malaysia is vulnerable to the floods. Approximately 482 million people get affected; this is just twenty two percent of the entire population in Malaysia. Malaysian floods can be categorized in two forms from the  Malaysia Drainage and Department of Irrigation that is flash floods and monsoon floods (Shah, Mustaffa, & Yusof, 2017). The difference between the two disasters is the period taken to rise above the ordinary level by the river. Flash floods only take some hours to get back to the normal level. On the other hand, the monsoon floods take more than a month. Changes in the local weather are some of the causes that bring the flash flood whereas the human-made causes are poor drainage systems and an influx in the number of buildings towns and most cases results in flash floods in the Klang valley. As a result of increased roads, buildings and parking places, urban centers are prone to floods.

The repercussions of floods always result in an economic downfall for most low-income earners who feel the impact more than the high-income earners. With the little income, there is a little effort that can be done by the low-income earners to mitigate the floods. Since 1920s Malaysia has experienced some floods and one of the worst was in December 2006 and 2007 floods. It forms such experiences that the rescue and recovery departments have learned to handle the condition.

Description of the Event

An Analysis of how the Event was Managed

The management of floods in Malaysia before they occurred followed the Standard Operating Procedure that worked closely with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Meteorology, and public works and involves two steps, structured and unstructured. Structural measures included activities like the dams and the dikes that controlled the level of water flowing and non-structural on the other hand entailed activities such as planning for land use and forecasting for the floods and also giving warning systems that ensure negative impacts of floods get mitigated(Chan, 2012; Khalid, & Shafiai, 2015). Measures that are structural were effected with the aim of controlling the danger of flooding more so in the plains where there are more hazards to people.

Agencies implemented the policy measures as mentioned earlier included the department of irrigation and drainage, department of public works and the local authorities. On the other hand, the agencies that were involved in ensuring the unstructured measures got implemented the department of the meteorological activities in Malaysia and also the department of public works. According to the records, dissemination of warning services began in 1925 when a disaster struck along Perak and Sungai Klang. The warning systems for floods is given depending on the water level in the river in Sungai Kelantan in a bid to shun the people who had occupied the downstream Kota since 1900.Police were empowered to check the level of water of the rainfall and therefore was responsible for sending messages to the committee of warning flood that was to respond in Kota Bharu (Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran, 2013).

In one of the studies that were focused on the policies of flooding in Malaysia, it was concluded that the directives were developed with the aim of managing a flood was based on a traditional theory and failed in meeting needs and the demands of the affected people (Hamin, Othman, & Elias, 2013). In another study that was conducted again, it revealed that studies in risk management of floods that employ and adopt the top-down theory were not effective since the government acted only after a disaster occurred with no earlier preparations that integrate policies that are community-related. (Grisez Kweit, & Kweit, 2007). It was due to the fact the top-down strategy was not effective, and a more proactive approach that involves the use of bottom-up theory should be engaged so as to obtain feedback from the victims’ view  regarding the formulation of the policy and the repercussions of the floods to their daily live. From the bottom-up theory, the collection of data that involves the necessities of the victims gets accessed from the primary victims and is dependent on the complaints and the views of those involved in a catastrophe (Chan, 2012; Roosli & O,Brien, 2011). Also, it is argued that the decision to distribute disaster relief is more effective and gets more comprehensive using the bottom-up approach.

Lessons Learnt

Disaster recovery is a process that assumes three different but related meanings. It can be defined as an objective that entails restoring the activities of the people that were stopped by the effects of the disaster in the minds of the people before the occurrence of the catastrophe. Also, it is a stage in the cycle of managing emergency that starts with ensuring that the conditions surrounding disaster get stabilized and the process ends after the community returns home and the daily routine of activities. The third meaning states that it is a process where the community returns home and resumes daily chores (Hamin, Othman, & Elias, 2013).

Provision of items such as blankets, clothing and mosquito nets was a success. Cold is dangerous more so where there are children who in most cases have low immunity. In the event of a flood like the Malaysian case, there were blankets that were distributed to the victims more so the expectant mothers and the children to prevent them from the dangers that emanate from cold-related diseases such as pneumonia (Altay, 2008).Mosquito nets were also distributed to reduce the effects of malaria that claims more lives compared to any other disease under the sun. As such, in the cases of floods, the Malaysian government played a critical role in ensuring that the victims were safe with enough clothing to prevent them from the cold at night and also the nets for the mosquitos (Balcik, Beamon, & Smilowitz, 2008).

However, in some areas, there is the need for improvement so as to reduce the effects of floods. The role of government in ensuring that people do not construct houses near the major rivers is a total failure. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the lives of the citizens are always protected through implementing policies that enhance the lives of the citizens. The government has failed in evacuating people from the plains that are known for floods (Hanumantha Rao, & Subba Rao, 2008).

Conclusion

References

Chan, N. W. (2012). Impacts of Disasters and Disasters Risk Management in Malaysia:  The Case of floods. In Sawada, Y. and S. Oum (eds.), Economic and Welfare Impacts of Disasters in   East  Asia and Policy Responses. ERIA Research Project Report 2011-8, Jakarta: ERIA. Pp.497-545.

Davies, R. (2017). Malaysia - 25,000 Evacuate Floods in Terengganu and Kelantan – FloodList. Retrieved from https://floodlist.com/asia/malaysia-floods-terengganu-kelantan-january-2017

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM). Peraturan Tetap Operasi Pengurusan Bencana. Putrajaya (2013/2014).

Jabatan   Pengairan   dan   Saliran.(2013).Pengurusan   Banjir   - Program  dan  Aktiviti. Retrieved from https://www.water.gov.my/our-services-mainmenu-252/floodmitigation-mainmenu-323/programme-aamp- activities-mainmenu-199?lang=my&showall=1 at 3 Januari 2014.

Perdana Menteri Malaysiahttps://www.met.gov.my/images/pdf/national_papers/dcm2011/dmc4.pdf

Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN).(2012). Arahan No.20.Dasar dan Mekanisme Pengurusan Bencana Jabatan Perdana Menteri Malaysia.

Wehn,U.,Rusca, M.,Evers,J.,&Lanfranchi,V.(2014).Participation in flood risk management and the potential of citizen observatories: a governance analysis.submitted to the International Conference on Flood Management.

Shah,S.,Mustaffa,Z.,& Yusof, K.(2017).Disasters Worldwide and Floods in the Malaysian Region: A Brief Review. Indian Journal Of Science And Technology, 10(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.17485/ijst/2017/v10i2 /110385