JOHOR BARU: The Penang government must push for speedy implementation of sustainable flood mitigation systems, especially in towns, cities and densely-populated areas.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's (UTM) Faculty of Civil Engineering's hydraulics and hydrology department lecturer, Prof Dr Sobri Harun said the critical flood situation in Penang indicates an urgent need to revise the state's existing flood mitigation plans and flood mitigation systems, especially in the urban areas.
He said there is a need to review existing urban master plans because of the advent of climate change.
"There is an urgency for the Penang government to resolve matters involving its flood mitigation plan. They must engage with all relevant quarters, and make sure that flood mitigation systems are properly maintained and that these mitigations systems are updated," Sobri told the New Straits Times.
He said that based on a general observation of the situation in parts of George Town, Penang since yesterday, it was likely that the city's drains could not cope with the sudden increase in water levels and continuous heavy rainfall.
“There are many factors that could have rendered the drainage system ineffective. There may have been blockages to the water outlets due to poor maintainance of these structures. There is a possibility that the drainage and irrigation system could no longer work and need to be replaced or upgraded.
"It is important for the authorities in Penang to provide proper drainage and flood mitigation systems in areas that are being further developed," said Sobri.
He said, based on rainfall data from the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) website, he found that rainfall amounts were "off the charts" in the northern region on Saturday.
Sobri said, based on DID data, rainfall recorded at the Kampung Lahar Ikan Mati station in Northern Seberang Perai, Penang was unusually high between Oct 31 and today, and that the highest amount was recorded today (Nov 5) with 457mm of rainfall.
"These readings surpassed the average monthly records for rainfall. There is usually between 13mm to 15mm of rain recorded daily in that area, while the monthly average is 250mm of rainfall," he said.