MP SPEAKS | Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is meeting with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and other relevant agencies, including state government leaders, to prepare for massive floods later this year.

The following are some short and long-term suggestions the PM should consider in mitigating floods.

Short term

1. To create early warning systems that must cover all flood-prone districts in the country;

2. To organise immediate capacity-building events at the district level involving NGOs, residents’ associations and rukun tetangga, including Rela, nationwide to equip the public with knowledge and skills on flood-proofing;

3. To identify flood relief centres and make them known in advance;

4. To improve The Meteorological Department’s weather-predicting capabilities;

5. To ensure that Nadma’s relief strategy is updated and widely circulated and that the agency be staffed with highly skilled military and emergency services officials;

Long term

1. To create an effective legal mechanism for integrating policies and mechanisms for flood management, like the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in the UK;

2. To stop all logging activities in upstream areas of rivers. This will prevent mud and debris from clogging rivers with excess water flowing to the lower plains;

3. To create more large underground storage schemes underneath fields and stadiums to store stormwater runoff in order to reduce downstream flooding risks during severe rainfall events;

4. To use porous asphalt to allow water to penetrate underground stormwater management facilities;

5. To implement green infrastructure. Rain gardens, green roofs and vegetation can help reduce runoff;

6. To adopt sponge-city concepts. It strengthens ecological infrastructure and drainage systems, which would not only alleviate flooding but also to tackle shortages of water resources.

CHARLES SANTIAGO is Klang MP.

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