3.0 INTERGRATED FLOOD MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA by Dato’ Ir.

Sabri
Abdul Mulok Deputy Of Director General (Expert Sectorial)

3.1 Introduction
Over the last three decades, flooding is a major risk in the world and nowadays
it is becoming common in Malaysia. It has caused loss of lives and destruction of
properties. It is one of the natural disasters that prevents the development of a country.
The changes of flood trends are due to changes of climate, use of land, growth of urban
and human activities such as deforestation and infrastructure development across the
watercourse. In Malaysia, past researches showed that flood is the most common
disaster affecting a number of areas especially the low area since 1920s. Past researches
stated that almost 9% of the total disaster is caused by the widening of the area while
almost 22% of the total population is directly affected by floods. Indeed, the flood
disaster is expected to keep rising in line with the increase of migration from the rural
residents to the cities, changes in the structure of soil which is caused by uncontrolled
development, poverty and other factors that threaten the floodplain areas. Floods often
occur in Malaysia due to the increase in the frequency of rainfall and the rise of the
level of the sea in certain parts of the country.
Furthermore, the condition of climate in Malaysia is experiencing rainfall with
the average of approximately 2,500 mm a year in Peninsular Malaysia, 3,000 mm a year
in Sabah and 3,500 mm a year in Sarawak making it as a common natural disaster in
Malaysia. Specifically, there are two types of flooding that usually occur in Malaysia
which are monsoon flood and flash flood. Monsoon flood normally happens around the
month of May until August (Southwest Monsoon) and around the month of November
until February (Northeast Monsoon). On the other hand, flash flood usually happens in
the busy city. It is caused by the uncontrolled human activities such as infrastructure
development near the river areas and uncontrolled littering causing clogged drains and
waterways. This situation is definitely worrying to the public as it has a negative impact
on life, property, infrastructure, agriculture, human health and economic status which
are affecting the community’s quality of life. Therefore, efforts need to be implemented
to resolve the problem. The effectiveness of flood disaster management should be given
attention so that this situation cause by the disaster can be alleviated. Hence, this paper
intends to get the information about how the flood issues have been managed in
Malaysia as reported in the published literature.
3.2 Types and Nature of Flood
There are no formal categorizations of floods in Malaysia but is often broadly
categorised as monsoonal, flash or tidal floods. In addition, floods are also described
based on its location, characteristics, the cause, the timing as to when it occurs and its
duration. Causes of flood has two type:
i) Natural Causes of flood: Short, high intensity leads to flash flood, heavy
widespread rain leads to land inundation
ii) Human Induced floods: Disposal of solid wastes into rivers, sediments
from land clearance and construction areas, increase in impervious areas
and Obstruction and constriction in the rivers

3.3 FLOOD PRONE AREA – Hotspots For Vulnerability

 Flood-prone areas ≈ 33,298 km2 out of 330,436 km2 (10.1%);

 Population directly affected by flood ≈ 5.7million Malaysian (> 21%).
 Estimated Flood Damage ≈ USD 278 Million (RM1.15 Billion)
 Last 20 Years Water Related Disaster in Malaysia

Victims
Year Flood Event Death
Evacuated

1993 Sabah 27 22,000

Shah Alam / Klang Valley,

1995 8 23,870
Klang, Selangor,

Keningau, Sabah (Tropical

1996 238 39,687
Cyclone Greg)

Pos Dipang, Perak; Kuala

1998 49 > 100
Lumpur

1999 Penampang, & Sandakan, Sabah 9 4,481

2000 Kg. La, Terengganu 6 -

Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu;

2001 Gunung Pulai, Johor; Besut, 14 > 11,000
Marang, Terengganu

2006/07 Johor & Kelantan 18 110,000

2008 Johor 28 34,000

2010 Kedah & Perlis 4 50,000

Kemaman, Terengganu, Kuantan

2013 3 >34,000
Pahang, Johor, Kelantan

Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Kota

2014 25 500,000
Bharu Kelantan

2015 Kota Belud, Sabah - > 1,800

2017 Pulau Pinang 7 > 2,000

Sources: Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, Malaysian National Security Council and
Chan (2012)
3.4 Causes of Flood: Climate Change

El Niño and La Niña are two complex weather patterns that result from
variations in the ocean temperatures of the equatorial Pacific. Being close to the
equatorial Pacific, the occurrence of the so- called El Niño-Southern Oscillation
(ENSO) events has a notable impact on Malaysian weather. The wind circulation of the
ENSO influences the precipitation in Malaysia. The extreme changes in rainfall level
either below or above the average does significantly affect the productivity of the
Malaysian main agriculture commodity namely palm oil. The reduction in rainfall
amount creates stress during the development of oil palm fruit bunches and hence
reduces the FFB yield of the palms. On the other hand, higher than average rainfall also
has a negative effect on the oil palms and reduces the oil production. The occurrence of
these two events is seen to affect CPO prices. However, our analysis suggested that
there was no significant relationship between rainfall and CPO prices, but CPO
production does.

Jan 1950 Jan 2018

 El Nino and La Nina  global patterns of climatic variability;

 El Nino  intensity and duration of events are varied and hard to predict.

3.5 Causes of Flood: Human Intervention

i) Effects Of Urbanization
Streams are fed by runoff from rainfall and snowmelt moving as overland or
subsurface flow. Floods occur when large volumes of runoff flow quickly into
streams and rivers. The peak discharge of a flood is influenced by many factors,
including the intensity and duration of storms and snowmelt, the topography and
geology of stream basins, vegetation, and the hydrologic conditions preceding
storm and snowmelt events. Land use and other human activities also influence the
peak discharge of floods by modifying how rainfall and snowmelt are stored on
and run off the land surface into streams. In undeveloped areas such as forests and
grasslands, rainfall and snowmelt collect and are stored on vegetation, in the soil
column, or in surface depressions. When this storage capacity is filled, runoff flows
slowly through soil as subsurface flow. In contrast, urban areas, where much of the
land surface is covered by roads and buildings, have less capacity to store rainfall
and snowmelt. Construction of roads and buildings often involves removing
vegetation, soil, and depressions from the land surface. The permeable soil is
replaced by impermeable surfaces such as roads, roofs, parking lots, and sidewalks
that store little water, reduce infiltration of water into the ground, and accelerate
runoff to ditches and streams. Even in suburban areas, where lawns and other
permeable landscaping may be common, rainfall and snowmelt can saturate thin
soils and produce overland flow, which runs off quickly. Dense networks of ditches
and culverts in cities reduce the distance that runoff must travel overland or through
subsurface flow paths to reach streams and rivers. Once water enters a drainage
network, it flows faster than either overland or subsurface flow.
With less storage capacity for water in urban basins and more rapid runoff,
urban streams rise more quickly during storms and have higher peak discharge rates
than do rural streams. In addition, the total volume of water discharged during a
flood tends to be larger for urban streams than for rural streams. As with any
comparison between streams, the differences in streamflow cannot be attributed
solely to land use, but may also reflect differences in geology, topography, basin
size and shape, and storm patterns. The hydrologic effects of urban development
often are greatest in small stream basins where, prior to development, much of the
precipitation falling on the basin would have become subsurface flow, recharging
aquifers or discharging to the stream network further downstream. Moreover, urban
development can completely transform the landscape in a small
Miri River Basin in Sarawak
ii) Uncontrolled Development
 Human activity influences the frequency and severity of floods.
 Extensive land clearing for agriculture
 Loss of flood plain/ wetlands
 Encroachment into flood plains
 iii) Constriction Of Bridges
Floods cause bridge collapses in a few different ways. Severe floods can cause
rivers and creeks to overflow, picking up debris like trees, cars and parts of houses.
When the river passes under a bridge, the high water level smashes the debris into the
bridge.

3.6 Integrated Flood Management (IFM)

i) Components Of Integrated Flood Management

 1 2 3
Ensure a Integrated Land and Manage Water
Participatory Water Management Cycle as a Whole
Approach

6 5 4
Adopt Adopt Integrated Adopt a Best Mix of
Environmental Hazard Strategies
Enhancement Management

7
Introducing
National Flood
Management
ii) Structural Measures

6
RIVER AND
PUMP DRAINAGE
IMPROVEMENT
1

LEVEE/ BUND DAM

4 BY-PASS POND

3
iii) Non Structural Measures

6
FLOOD PLAIN
DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
1

5
FLOOD
EDUCATIONAL FORECASTING
AND AWARENESS AND WARNING
PROGRAMME SYSTEM

2
LAND USE FLOOD MAP
4 PLANNING

iv) Strategies And Options For Integrated Flood Management

a) Reducing Flooding
 Dams And Reservoirs
 Dikes, Levees And Flood Embankments
 High Flow Diversions
 Catchment Management
 Channel Improvements
b) Reducing Susceptibility To Damage
 Floodplain Regulation
 Development And Redevelopment Policies
 Design And Location Of Facilities
 Housing And Building Codes
 Flood Proofing
 Flood Forecasting And Warning
c) Mitigating The Impacts Of Flooding
 Information And Education
 Disaster Preparedness
 Flood Insurance
 d) Preserving The Natural Resources Of Flood Plains
 Floodplain Zoning And Regulation

3.7 Integrated Flood Management – Malaysia Initiatives

Initially, flood management focused on the urgent need to provide immediate flood
relief works as well as to implement major flood mitigation projects to "catch-up" with
the continuous and intense urban development. New non-structural measures were
introduced and the most significant being that required under Manual Saliran Mesra
Alam. Compliance to this manual is now a mandatory requirement for all new urban
development projects since 2001. Since the new millennium, the DID has adopted the
Integrated River Basin Development and the Integrated Flood Management approaches
for its flood management programs. These will provide a balanced approach between
structural and non-structural measures as well as higher levels of public participation.
Major Flood Mitigations Projects completed are:
 SMART - 'Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel
 Batu Jinjang Ponds & Related Diversions Project
 Sungai Muda Flood Mitigation Project
 Sungai Perai Flood Mitigation Project
 Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Flood Mitigation Project
 Bertam - Kepala Batas Flood Mitigation Project

Structural Measures
3.8 Challenges on Flood Management
a) Securing Livelihoods
 Increased population pressure and enhanced economic activities in
floodplains, further increase the risk of flooding. Floodplains provide
excellent, technically easy livelihood opportunities in many cases
b) Rapid Urbanization
 Urbanization causes changes in the hydrological response of watersheds, and
affects landforms, water quality and habitat. Population growth and
migration towards unplanned urban settlements in the floodplains of
developing countries increase the vulnerability of the poorest sectors of
society to flooding.
c) The Illusion Of Absolute Safety From Flooding
 Designing for high frequency floods entails a greater risk of disastrous
consequences when more extreme events take place. Failures can occur when
some structural measures are inadequately maintained due to long-term
disuse or lack of finances, and may no longer function properly.
d) Ecosystem Approach
 IRBM + IWRM + IFM: encompass the main principles of the ecosystem
approach by considering the entire basin ecosystem as a unit and by
accounting for the effects of economic interventions in the basin as a whole.
e) Climate Variability And Change
 Climate change poses a major conceptual challenge as it shakes the
foundation of the normal assumption that the long-term historical
hydrological conditions will continue into the future. Tackling climate
change requires leadership, vision, capacity, and resources beyond our
experiences to date.

3.9 Conclusion
The concept of IFM represents a fundamental shift from the need to control
approach to the need to manage approach thereby shifting from a reactive to a more
proactive approach.