MetMalaysia’s early flood warning effective – Nazmi

The Malaysian Meteorological Department‘s (MetMalaysia) early flood warning system is still effective in identifying potential flood events, natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said, according to The Star.

“MetMalaysia, in its statement on November 19, forecast strong monsoon surge that could result in heavy rain in the east coast (seven days before it happened). While there were warnings of heavy rainfall in the area, we did not anticipate it to be as heavy as the one in 2014,” he said yesterday in his Budget 2025 debate winding-up speech.

“MetMalaysia has a substantial following on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. However, given that many young people are active on TikTok, they cannot simply replicate the same messaging used for Facebook or Instagram.

“As such, during my meeting with MetMalaysia this (Monday) morning, I emphasised the need for better strategies in explaining and communicating weather updates to the public,” added Nik Nazmi.

MetMalaysia also works directly with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) by providing advice and insights to aid disaster management, although flood mitigation projects involving MetMalaysia exclude on-ground infrastructure construction projects undertaken by the irrigation and drainage department – that’s supervised by the energy transition and water transformation ministry, he said.

The minister also revealed that MetMalaysia is using high-performance computing systems to enhance its numerical weather prediction models so that disaster risks can be foreseen up to 14 days in advance instead of the current seven.

“It is one of the key inputs for the national flood forecasting model developed by the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, which also includes early warning systems for other disasters such as flash floods, landslides, and heatwaves.

“The development of this system is critical and aligns with the primary objectives of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2030. It includes creating radar observation networks in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for more precise and comprehensive weather monitoring,” added Nik Nazmi.

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