essay flood in malaysia

A scoping review of flash floods in Malaysia: current status and the way forward

• Review Article
• Published: 22 July 2022
• Volume 114 , pages 2387–2416, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

• Raidan Maqtan 1 ,
• Faridah Othman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4952-3676 1 ,
• Wan Zurina Wan Jaafar 1 ,
• Mohsen Sherif 2 , 3 &
• Ahmed El-Shafie 1  

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Flash floods are not only the deadliest weather-related hazard but also one of the leading challenges with which governments and societies need to cope. Flash floods occur within a very limited time, which is insufficient to enable effective warnings and preparedness. Flash floods have become, for many reasons, the most frequent form of natural disaster in Malaysia, considerably affecting humans, property, and the economy. Modeling flash flood phenomena in the tropics is challenging due to the high topographic and meteorological complexity of these regions. The uncertain definition boundary of the monsoon flood and the multidisciplinary nature of flash flood studies also increase the challenge of the reviewing process. In this study, a systematic methodology was developed to review flash floods in Malaysia by considering all the possible related issues. This study revealed a gap in the data analysis of flash floods and that related studies in Malaysia are still not highly developed. Accordingly, the creation of a comprehensive Malaysian flash flood dataset is recommended to advance flash flood studies, modeling, and forecasting. Rainfall analysis based on Global Precipitation Measurement and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data of different intensities also confirmed the high variability of rainfall in Malaysia. The highest variability in the hourly-based rainfall dataset was observed in the central region. The information and findings presented here will be useful for interested hydrologists and decision-makers by enabling better water management. Additionally, the proposed recommendations for future research could pave the way for a better understanding of flash floods in Malaysia, and the method could be applied in different river basins worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Higher Education (Grant Number: FRGS/1/2020/TK0/UM/02/19) and Universiti Malaya Research Grant (GPF070A-2018) for providing the financial support for this research. The rainfall data for the analyses and visualizations used in this study were produced using the Giovanni online data system, which is developed and maintained by the NASA GES DISC. We would also like to acknowledge all the relevant agencies for their support and assistance in performing this research. We are most grateful to, and would like to thank, the reviewers for their valuable suggestions, which led to substantial improvements to this article.

This work was supported by Ministry of Higher Education via FRGS grant (Grant Number: FRGS/1/2020/TK0/UM/02/19) and Universiti Malaya Research Grant (GPF070A-2018).

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Maqtan, R., Othman, F., Wan Jaafar, W.Z. et al. A scoping review of flash floods in Malaysia: current status and the way forward. Nat Hazards 114 , 2387–2416 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05486-6

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Received : 02 February 2022

Accepted : 07 July 2022

Published : 22 July 2022

Issue Date : December 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05486-6

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