specific rules and regulations in managing flood risk in Malaysia

Land use planning

- Improper land development can increase the risk of flooding.

- Development will utilize impermeable materials such as asphalt to cover the soil and vegetation, leading the rainfall that used to soak into the ground will flow directly into rivers and streams, increasing the amount of flow.

- Due to lack of awareness and neglecting the potential danger, building development is conducted in the areas that are already affected by the flooding, causing the buildings to hinder the flood to pass through and the destruction of flood is significantly enhanced.

- Identifying the flood hazard areas is the best way to minimise the loss towards citizens and property. To be specific, well planning new buildings, roads and other vulnerable structures to avoid the flooding from occurring. A good planning practice indicates that land in areas that regularly flood should be limited to uses that are not greatly affected by flooding, such as parking, golf courses, recreation areas and parking lots, or uses such as agricultural or forestry or conservation.

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/elg/environment/content/flood/land _development.html

Integrated flood risk management (IRFM)

-the effect could be less disastrous on people and on public and private infrastructure

- It takes into account on the need for cooperation of all stakeholders, and ensuring all phases of the disaster cycle is equally addressed. Mitigation in relation to such natural disasters requires pre-disaster planning, and proper policy-making linking between flood disasters and sustainable development ensuring that long-term issues to protect the community are considered

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/277811/1-s2.0-S1877042813X00370/1-s2.0-S1877042813044273/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEFMaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQCDhdO12I%2Bz4bH0S%2Fi%2ByfaJ%2BTs57IdguNc60tY0lBus8wIgBNE4o3zwyv4JLc9C3AsaAScaMVovWKAolTwrPnFKPoUqgwQI6%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAEGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDFzyPMS9MTccheUXQSrXA94XfTuX88AuXsnAMQvDzN3qIlVfuuO61C7rRBGdycfTjYTBMvB3fy0N2IjcOTVzCN7QJMrkZRtKn3Nh0rzAn4ex65%2FJ441FukSH5wECgdU881m18qBPvbT50rwsLgz2vHPUVPyh4w3ru7mBVBg2k6TeX%2BlQcbT6sFgdxxxKwNo97%2FY2AnRQBMahvO9qgR%2BwgMWejVuM0vjus1HkEgBpXh%2BLx7AOFgvEd1LehMFczKDY89mtAUDQA60SJXQwuIOXrT0sGA2CBE2xGh8eTILtCXYx8UJqqautZOZqpl0CfX7rz3Ae%2B3xY7GDmPm5wFvIfX%2BE2%2BRjfzGi1F%2FC1dpnI61mXRlwB7WW2950UyqFrFvRlWWgzAbHJP1Vx1Q%2FyCRJjQ6sQWdk2KIkF8fao822ILYX85PsLyweDHF%2FTVewJBpMejIPNParjVfb%2Fz8Cmwye5hGuhs9%2FFsLM%2FDbc1Xrur9HUlemdOSfPd8nNjPDc5mdqZVmkCJoasRS7uLU%2BmwV6ZoDAWsOkV65fvRycujVrg2WEuiqINIPW43xv%2FclN5%2BocaXmshbGgREVX672qzFJTP8kAgLxAlbNbdG2hqHpfxQpkoEQvsTMJaEgzU2bv3xesJWy4Bah8NqzCF1fmLBjqlAbYTdx51O%2FA%2BSIS4njpD9fCF8k0WhOrSdBxlf0rmk271yioYT9viRT3BjBMlp%2BEue%2FNF%2FCmNEnhyVcJ%2FmDCzFyLXPDLBR5D%2B4deAtDxfgV0YB6w7q1TB4SbxN5voFHE7ODxYKaVjonrd7%2ByzISpMu9nu%2FbNHP8OcvMjdIoJup0iDB5c067FAYHorwj%2FC33KlzFtCNyzLDsRhHUpvqerC8si0o4rRHA%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20211031T110514Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYULGW62Y2%2F20211031%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=f51e1adbdcde9945170e5d7ee657f951470caa56a20d70d7805ad13b9b66ed8c&hash=100cefe8888775abf71a0b32576311e02bb256e4094d1a38a73e107660af68e7&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1877042813044273&tid=spdf-49fad9ec-6c49-4ed0-b5a2-2138d14934b5&sid=c01cbb339b0c904ea00b72b40208e057455cgxrqb&type=client

Tree preservation order

- Direct interception of rainfall

Rainfall is intercepted by the canopy of a tree and later evaporates from the leaves or drips from leaf surfaces and flows down the truck to eventually infiltrate the soil.

- Higher soil infiltration rates

Water penetrates more quickly and more deeply into soils under and around trees than on. Tree roots create channels in the soil known as 'macropores', and water from heavy rain will infiltrate the soil using these channels.

- Water use

Trees remove water from the catchment area leading to a significant reduction in pressure on drainage systems in urban areas and a reduction in flood risk in rural areas by absorbing runoff from roads and agricultural areas.

- Hydraulic roughness

Trees and deadwood along stream sides and on floodplains act as a drag on flood waters, holding back water and slowing the flow during heavy rainfall.

https://www.charteredforesters.org/trees-can-reduce-floods

Challenges in flood disaster management in Malaysia

- In a country where poverty reduction and income equity amongst all races are targets of achievement, the reduction of flood loss appears to be an important vehicle towards achieving those targets. This is because the poor are the most vulnerable to flooding in Malaysia and any substantial increase in flood protection and flood loss reduction will reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor. A more pro-active and dynamic approach towards flood management should be adopted encompassing a multi-disciplinary approach combining structural and non-structural measures.

- Employment of legislation to control floodplain encroachment is vital for sustainable development and to manage flood hazards.

- Flood Disaster Preparedness, Flood Warning System, Flood Evacuation Plan and Flood Disaster Risk Management of Impacts in the country are all areas that need to be improved to ensure reduction of flood risks as well as reduce flood impacts. A more pro-active and holistic approach of flood management will improve awareness, preparedness and overall management thereby reducing loss of life, injury and property damage.

https://www.iwra.org/member/congress/resource/3060518.pdf

Most effective approach is through the development of flood management programs using a holistic approach

1) Prevention

-avoiding construction of houses, properties and industries in present and future flood- prone areas for preventing damage caused by floods

2) Protection

-to reduce the likelihood and the impact of floods in a specific location, with the Government taking structural and non-structural measures

3) Preparedness

-to give information to the public about what to do in the event of flooding and about flood risks

4) Emergency Actions

-in case of flood, developing the emergency response, formulate plans and actions

5) Recovery and lessons learned

-after flooding disaster, return to normal conditions as soon as possible and mitigate both social and economic impact

- the committee of NDMRC was entrusted with the responsibility of planning, coordinating and supervising relief operations during flooding. This committee includes governmental departments and agencies, and social organizations that are able to provide rescue, shelter, food and medical supplies for the victims.

- Furthermore, in the case of flooding, the National Crisis and Disaster Management Mechanism (NCDMM) would be called the National Flood Disaster Relief Machinery (NFDRM). The NFDRM reacts to major floods when they occur, and is basically a reactive system. The NFDRM is theoretically responsible for operations at national, state, district, mukim and village levels

- In the event of flooding, the Government has developed the relief machinery and emergency flood management, and for post-disaster, funding and aid delivery systems to help the victims recover after disaster occurs.

http://www.ijssh.org/papers/488-V10012.pdf

A. Flood Forecasting and Warning System (Pre-Disaster)

- The Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID) is responsible for providing flood forecasting and warning services to the public

- Available records showed that flood warning services were first provided for the flood event of 1925 when floods occurred along the Kinta River in Perak and Klang River in Selangor and Bernam River in Selangor and Perak Boundary

- At present, the short messages system (SMS) is provided to give an alert to relevant officers in-charge of government agencies such as Police, Army, the Malaysia Meteorological Department (JPA3), DID, and National Security Division (BKN) at Prime Ministers Department. The SMS delivery system should also be extended to the community because the information about a flood event will reach them more effectively

- This statement is supported by Sahu (2006), because SMS is an effective notification system, able to be used to communicate to a larger percentage of people and its functional resilience to disaster. However, the message must be in the language understood by the target audience, especially in rural areas.

- Often, sophisticated flood warning and evacuation system (FWESs) are alien to the public who are accustomed to traditional FWESs [11]. This will happen because of lack of confidence and mistrust in the costly new technologies. Hence, the flood forecasting and warning system have been upgraded.

B. Flood Relief Machinery (During Disaster)

- In Malaysia, disaster management is almost entirely based on a top-down approach and the relief operation is the responsibility of the Natural Disaster Relief Committee.

- In accordance with the operating procedures under the flood relief mechanism, the DID begins to monitor closely the flood situation when the river stage of the flood warning station reaches the alert level and the DID will advise the relevant flood control centers that the flood relief mechanism shall be activated. The respective state DID office must carry out the flood forecast operation using the real time telemetric data and river forecasting computer models during the flood season. When the river water level at any forecasting point exceeds the critical level, the forecast must be transmitted to the flood operation centers and other relevant agencies such as the National Security Division of the Prime Ministers Department and the national and state control center for flood relief and operation.

C. Flood Management Emergency (During Disaster)

- the flood operation during the disaster requires close cooperation and understanding among various parties involved at the flood plain including coordination district level to be efficient and successful in rescuing victims and reduction of property losses.

- This will create chaos and additional dangers in the flood rescue operations, especially when both road transport and telecommunications are disrupted and electricity supply is short-circuited at the start of the flood and rescue operations must continue throughout the night.

- the flood emergency response to rescue the victims is led by Army and Public Defense Services

D. Funding and Aid Delivery System (Post-Disaster)

- The aid delivery system for flood victims in Malaysia is based on two forms: financial and non-financial assistance

- A tremendous amount of financial allocation, in areas such as physical infrastructure development, will be needed to carry out an effective flood management strategy. This includes the construction of large dams, canalization of rivers and building high capacity sewage treatment plants to restore polluted rivers to their original clean water quality condition.

http://www.ijssh.org/papers/488-V10012.pdf

Thailand ( based on 2011 flood in Bangkok )

New operation rules

- the rule curves for major dams in Thailand were revised after the 2011 flood. New rule curves have been established after re-examining the balance between demands for irrigation such as agricultural and industrial water supply and the importance of flood prevention, considering approaches from the fields of meteorology and hydrology such as river runoff and rainfall, and socioeconomic aspects (Khana thamngaan jatthamphaenkaan borihaanjatkaan khuankepnamlak lae jattham phaen borihanjatkaan nam khong prathaet prajampi 2555 [2013]). Therefore, the risk distribution of flood prevention and irrig ation was modified in line with the locations of industrial parks and social changes. Figure 4 exhibits the rule curves used until 2011 and new rule curves and the amount of water stored in 2011 at the Phumiphon Dam. A comparison between the new rule curves and those used until 2011 reveals overall reduction in the water storage levels. The reduction is particularly great in the lower rule curves for May and June and the upper rule curves for August and September. The reduction in the lower rule curve for May was 1,185 million cubic meters (effective storage was cut by 16%) and the decrease in the upper rule curve for August was 1,822 million cubic meters (effective storage was cut by 17%) (ibid.). The stored amount would be reduced before May and would be maintained without any addition until August. Although the upper rule curve as of October 1 was below the free space of 100 million cubic meters in the settings of the conventional rule curves, the new rule curves were 233.7 million cubic meters in October, 100 million cubic meters as of November 1, and approximately 60 million cubic meters in December when the water level would reach the highest point. The total amount of discharge in October 2011 was 1,900 million cubic meters. The free space specified by the new rule curve would exceed this amount.

Dam operation in 2012 based on the new rules

- In early January 2012, even before the new rule curves were introduced, the daily amounts of approximately 60 million cubic meters, or the maximum hydroelectric discharge capacity, began to be discharged from the Phumiphon Dam. This was an effort to reduce water levels as much as possible in preparation for the subsequent rainy season, which continued until early March. This was the first time that the Phumiphon Dam conducted hydroelectric discharge during a dry season without demand by downstream areas (according to an interview with a Phumiphon Dam manager in September 2012). In May 2012, monthly discharge schedules for June and thereafter were prepared, and storage forecasts were developed for the cases of large inflow, average inflow, and small inflow based on the scheduled amounts of discharge and amount of water stored in May (see Figure 4, Sucharit [2015]). The discharge plan for 2012 specified that the amount of discharge would be reduced in or after May and water in the range of two to 25 three billion cubic meters per month (daily average of approximately 10 million cubic meters) would be discharged from June through December. The actual discharge generally followed this plan until August. In September and October, however, the discharge was reduced to merely one-third of the scheduled amount (daily amount of approximately one million cubic meters from mid-September to mid-October). This was likely to be a result of a rapid increase in the flow of the Chaophraya River in the downstream Nakhon Sawan Province (C.2 observation point) and other areas during this period. Although the storage sharply increased in September because of this reduced discharge, a small overall inflow led to the effective storage rate at the end of November of 48%, which is in line with the forecast in the case of small inflow

Action taken

- The actions taken have been categorized into 3 i.e. Before, During and After the flood. Different interventions were carried before the occurrence of the flood, during and even after the floods. Department of Drainage and Sewerage (DDS) had the main responsibility in flood regulation of the BMA. Underlined with the perception to protect and drain floodwater out of the city as fast as possible, the agency emphasized the structural means of dykes, levees and floodwalls as the main prevention measures. After extensive flood damage in 1995 under the king's advice, several authorities convened for flood mitigation measures including the assistance from the Chaipattana Foundation, a NGO established in 1988 to develop projects of national and social benefit.

- To prevent floodwater to spread to East of Bangkok, the DDS build flood defense dikes beside the Rangsit Canal located in Lak Hok Sub District (beside the Hok Wa Canal and along the royal initiative water ridge). In addition, sandbags were erected along the Phaholyothin Road starting from the Rangsit Bridge to the Prapa Canal. The temporary dike (8.2 km long and 3 m above MSL) later failed in its operation to protect Bang Khen Bueng Kum, Lad Phroa and Khlong Sam Wa districts from being flooded.

- The Strategic Committee for Water Resource Management SCWRM collaborated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) assigned to conduct the comprehensive flood management plan for the Chao Phraya River Basin under the supervisory panels consisted of the representatives from the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) and the Department of Water Resources (DWR). After the 2011 flood damage, the SCWRM and the NESDB published an outline to the national Master Plan for Water Resource Management with the strategy to adopt the King's initiatives and the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy as guiding principles in the drafting.

The Government's Response to the Floods

In order to alleviate the current flood situations, the Government approved a flood relief and recovery plan totalling over 10 billion US dollars which includes 8.3 billion US dollars in soft loans being planned for SMEs, entrepreneurs and industrial estate developments and 1.42 billion US dollars for reconstructing the economy and society to be offered to both the industrial and agricultural sectors. This relief and recovery plan will be implemented as follows:

1. Immediate Phase:Immediate measures focusing on ensuring people's safety and diminishing damage to businesses; helping people and businesses adjust to the current flood situations within 1 - 2 months, which are:

- Database for infrastructure rehabilitation;

- Integration of activities in temporary shelters;

- Social rehabilitation activities;

- Main economic measures consisting of (1) Measures for the industrial sector; (2) Providing assistance to labourers through skill-development programs; (3) Restoring and repairing roads and infrastructure; (4) Measures on water management; and (5) Approaches to monitoring, rationing, and regulating prices of goods and services

2. Short-term Phase: Measures focusing on reconstructing the economy and society in a comprehensive manner consisting of:

- Measures concerning loans for people and business operators affected by the floods;

1. Individual loans provided by Special Financial Institutions comprising loans for individual groups, housing mortgage and loans for affected farmers;
2. Individual loans provided by Social Security Program comprising individual loans for affected business enterprises for reconstruction and individual loans for affected self-insured for reparation of residence;
3. Soft loans from business operators provided by the Government Savings Bank in cooperation with commercial banks;
4. Loans provided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC);
5. Loans for development of flood-protection systems for industrial estates and manufacturers;
6. Loans for SMEs provided by the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation;
7. Credit guarantees for SMEs provided by the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation
8. Investment incentives and other measures, such as:

- Consideration by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) on the extension of the incentive period and the investment benefits for affected investors; - Facilitation of visa application and employment licensing procedures - A plan of action for dewatering and reconstruction of industrial estates with the aim of resuming business operations within 45 days after the flood has receded.

3. Long-term Phase:Comprehensive reconstruction of the water management system for flood prevention in 2012, and management that can effectively resolve flood problems in the long run by identifying nation-wide rehabilitation in the post-crisis period as a national agenda consisting of:

• Development of the water management system;
• Acceleration of the construction of a permanent flood-prevention system to ensure industrial confidence;
• Designation of the development areas in compliance with the appropriateness of each area and implementation of comprehensive urban planning;
• Design, construction and restoration of infrastructure to ensure water flow and better risk management in case of flood;
• Ensure adoption of appropriate agricultural production practices of farmers;
• Improvement of the warning system for efficient flood emergency management;
• Review and revision of laws and regulations on water resource management;
• Enhance the people's participation in national water and water resource management.

Using a Decision Support System to forecast floods

• To better manage flood events, the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute (HAII) - part of the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology - decided to establish an operational water management Decision Support System (DSS). Driven by MIKE Powered by DHI's MIKE OPERATIONS, the DSS is able to provide forecasted levels and discharges at 28 locations up to seven days in advance. Once a day, four MIKE FLOOD and MIKE HYDRO River models in the system, each covering separate flood plain areas, run in hindcast mode. This brings all model parameters up-to-date, reflecting current hydrological conditions. The system performs forecast simulations if needed, and imports rainfall levels hourly and meteorological forecasts twice a day

• https://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Reports/Spot/pdf/SPT003400_002.pdf
• https://www.gwp.org/en/learn/KNOWLEDGE_RESOURCES/Case_Studies/Asia/thailand-the-2011-thailand-floods-in-the-lower-chao-phraya-river-basin-in-bangkok-metropolis-488/
• https://www.thaiembassy.sg/announcements/thailands-flood-situation-the-road-to-recovery
• https://www.dhigroup.com/global/references/apac/overview/protecting-thailand-from-floods

Q. 'Compare' these proposed rules & regulations ( Malaysia ) with one (1) other country. ( Thailand )