New study on flood hotspots needed

KUALA LUMPUR: The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim) have been instructed to conduct fresh studies following the increase in the number of flood-hit areas, that were previously not affected.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said data that the ministry currently has identifying flood hotspots in the country were outdated, dating back to 2014.
As such, he said the 40 river basins that have been identified for the setting up of the Flood Forecasting and Warning System (PRAB) and the RM550 million allocated by the government were insufficient, with rainfall distribution occurring at unexpected areas.
"RM550 million was allocated for the whole PRAB programme following the 2014 east coast floods. But in the past couple of years, a lot of areas that were not hit by flood previously, were affected.
"Hence, I have told DID and Nahrim to conduct new studies to obtain new data and review the flood hotspots," he told a press conference after the launch of the PRAB Centre, here, yesterday.
Wan Junaidi said the research, which is ongoing, is expected to be completed by next month.
He, however, did not disclose how much more allocation was needed for the research and how many more PRAB - apart from the 40 - were required.
Wan Junaidi said among the locations that were affected by unexpected flooding include several areas in Sarawak and Penang.
He also revealed that PRAB has been utilised once in November last year to forecast a flood in Kelantan and that it was 90% accurate in terms of the timing and location of the floods.
Meanwhile, on rumours that Barisan Nasional (BN) would place someone else to contest the Santubong seat, of which Wan Junaidi has been an MP for three terms, he said he saw no reason for that to happen considering his achievements.
"I'm a very sellable and winnable candidate. Since 1990, my graph (votes and support) has been rising. How can you find a character who wins all the time," he said, adding that he would ultimately leave it up to the BN top leadership to decide on the seat allocations.
Wan Junaidi, who is a member of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), won the last election with a 20,936 majority, beating three other candidates in the Santubong seat.