Floods more deadly now than a decade ago, KL warns

Effects worsened by seasonal monsoons and cutting down of trees from hillsides

THE Malaysian government has warned of a new age of floods, with the combination of felling of hillside trees and seasonal monsoons creating deadlier results compared to a decade ago.

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry parliamentary secretary Sazmi Miah said yesterday that several factors had combined to wreak havoc on daily life.

He cited swifter river currents, a higher rate of landslides, drainage systems clogged by mud and debris, as well as the dwindling number of trees, which are natural water catchments.

'We hope people understand that the more we wrangle over the environment, the more nature has a tendency to come back and bite us,' he said.

What has occurred, he said, is that the number of hillside trees, which are nature's 'sponge' to absorb excess water that will otherwise flow into rivers, have been reduced to such an extent that water is now flowing downstream more rapidly, leading to stronger and faster currents. Hence, riverbanks are spilling over at a swifter rate.

At least 29 people were killed and 34,000 displaced as floods battered several states in peninsular Malaysia during the past two weeks.

The north-eastern state of Kelantan has the highest number of victims, with 14 drowning cases reported as of Tuesday.

Datuk Sazmi said state governments, particularly along the east coast, must generate awareness among the people that playing in flood waters is no longer harmless, given the stronger currents.

State Drainage and Irrigation Department director Lim Chow Hock said the release of excess water from a dam in Narathiwat in southern Thailand also highlighted the need for a government-to-government effort to address the cross-border effects of floods.

It is believed that the water from the dam contributed to the third round of floods in Kelantan, with Tumpat the worst affected, and the number of evacuees here has risen to some 7,000.

Sungai Golok, a river separating Narathiwat province in Thailand and Kelantan in Malaysia, also recorded its highest-ever level of water at 10.6m on Monday.

Meanwhile tonnes of palm oil fruits turned rotten after the floods destroyed the country's plantations, as well as disrupted harvests and transportation to refiners.

Elsewhere, monsoon rains disrupted rubber tapping in Thailand and affected the quality of fresh fruit harvests in Indonesia.

'We heard it's difficult to bleach crude palm oil to get the refined palm products because the rains have spoilt the fruits and there has been quite a bit of contamination,' said a dealer with a foreign commodities trading house.

'Plantation companies are losing out because they have to sell these fruits at a discount to the refiners and, if the quality is really bad, the refiners have a right to get compensation.'

Worries about tight supplies boosted Malaysian palm oil futures, with the benchmark March contract hovering within sight of the record RM3,068 (S$1,337) a tonne hit late last month.

Malaysia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, which is used in products ranging from edible oil, shampoo, ice cream and margarine to biofuels.

The country's palm oil output is likely to fall 18 per cent this month compared to last month, as floods and heavy rains have inundated plantations in key producing states.

Meteorological officials expect more rain to pound the north-eastern Malaysian states during the monsoon season, a climatic phenomenon that occurs between November and February every year.

The relief authorities are bracing themselves for the high tide phenomenon, which is expected to worsen the flood situation in the central state of Pahang.

But the flood situation has improved in the southern state of Johor, with only 2,012 victims left in 33 evacuation centres.

Last week, there were more than 5,000 evacuees.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS, BERNAMA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE