The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) recently issued a statement announcing that the country will experience a transitional phase of the monsoon from October 3 until November this year. According to MetMalaysia director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, the start of the transitional phase would mark the end of the southwest monsoon that began on May 14.
“During the monsoon transition phase, the region will experience weak winds from various directions that are very conducive for thunderstorms, which usually brings with it heavy rains as well as strong winds,” Muhammad Helmi wrote.
“This usually occurs in the evenings and earlier parts of the nights in most areas in the states on the west coast and interiors of the peninsular, west Sabah and central Sarawak. These weather conditions can potentially cause flash floods as well as damage to unsound structures,” he added.
The department advised the public to be alert during the monsoon transition phase and follow weather forecasts and warnings issued via its official website, social media pages (Facebook, Twitter), myCuaca mobile app (iOS, Android) or by contacting its hotline at 1-300-22-1638.
With flash floods set to be a common occurrence in the coming months due to changing weather conditions, it’s important that motorists prepare themselves. One way to do so is by having Special Perils insurance coverage for your vehicle. This is an add-on (or rider in insurance speak) that covers natural disasters and acts of God, including floods.
Most insurance companies offer Special Perils as an option when you renew your car insurance and you’ll be reimbursed by the insurance provider should your car suffer damage from natural disasters. Depending on which insurance provider you take up, Special Perils can sometimes be offered in different tiers, so check which provides you with sufficient coverage, with flood coverage being a critical requirement.
Being an option, Special Perils will add to the payable premium, although it’s not by much. Last December, we tabulated the various costs of adding on Special Perils coverage offered by most auto insurance companies in Malaysia, including AIA, AIG, Allianz, AXA, Etiqa, Kurnia, MPI Generali, MSIG, RHB, Takaful and Tokio Marine. At the time, the rates varied between 0.15% to 0.50% of the sum insured for the vehicle.
Even with Special Perils coverage, it’s sometimes better to avoid the hassle and time wasted if your vehicle does get caught in a flood and you need to submit a claim. Should you plan on heading out when the clouds look gloomy, check beforehand if there is any flooding on the route you’re about to take.
If there is, look for an alternative route or delay/cancel your trip to minimise your risk. However, if it’s unavoidable that you must head out, there is some reassurance that with Special Perils, you’re covered in a worst-case scenario. Paying that little extra for peace of mind is certainly worth it, don’t you think?
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Well again if any complain please file it through the Environmental Man for stating Malaysia is not a Climate Vulnerable country a year ago.
And instead of providing solutions he is happy to show us that some people are throwing rubbish into the river instead but for other states pollution he can’t seems to know or even bother.
Monsoon season has nothing to do with climate change. Ask any east coaster whose kmapung been there for ages, floodings from high tides have been told thru time since their nenek moyang era. Guess what, they built houses on stilts rather than complain about the weather.
Many people know and understand that the monsoon season is an annual occurence. However, I think the issue is that we know it happens every year but we have not done enough to mitigate the devastation that the monsoon season brings. Urbanization makes the situation worse if no proper water dispersal is put in place. Why was the smart tunnel constructed? It was to address the flash floods that gripped KL especially the Central Business District. Today, we find that the smart tunnel alone is insufficient to deal with the problem. Why is that the case? Partly because of climate change. If you are living at any Condominium that is along the Old Klang Road, you will be able to see the Klang River rising very fast every time when it rains. If the rain is heavy, the river fills up even faster and the problem arises when there is continuous rainfall. The river will then overflow. Many “monsoon drains” from various housing and commercial areas flow into the Klang River. Hence the reason why the river fills up very fast during a storm. Have you seen the development along the Klang River? The number of new condominium and commercial buildings? There is so many new buildings but is there a Klang River 2? Is like having a 3 lane highway and 100,000 people using it. Then overtime, the number of people using it has increased to 400,000. So to mitigate the problem, the highway is upgraded to 5 lanes (Think of this as like building the smart tunnel to resolve the problem). However, the population keeps increasing and now there are 1,000,000 people using the highway. There is no way for new lanes to be added anymore as there is no more space to expand the highway. Then how? The Klang River is like the 5 lane highway, there is a limit to the amount of water it can disperse/carry. When it has hit it’s limit, what else can be done? You will have to expect flooding when the river is already overwhelmed. I hope this explanation can give you something to ponder upon.
I just checked Etiqa, it’s 0.25% and not 0.5%.