Flood-Related Disaster Communication and Humanitarian Logistics

Abstract

During the annual monsoon season, Malaysia is often affected severely by floods as a result of heavy rainfall and poor irrigation. Every year, thousands of people have to be relocated and be evacuated from their homes. Thus, this research is aimed to look at two central aspects of disaster management in the context of flood disaster management in Kuantan, Pahang. Using a mixed-method approach, first, the effectiveness of communication mechanisms in the case of floods is investigated with quantitative analysis using descriptive design. Secondly, this research takes a closer look at the underlying logistical framework found in flood disaster contexts and identifies its critical success factors. For this, a qualitative research approach is taken. Using thematic analysis, in-depth semi-structured interviews are analyzed to arrive at conclusions regarding the critical success factors. Investigating in the effectiveness of disaster communication, it has become apparent that communication between authorities, agencies, non-government organizations or NGOs and flood victims are still in need of improvement, as the suggestions made by participants of the study suggests, both in regard to emergency updates as well as to heightening community awareness on the right actions to take in preparation of upcoming floods. The critical success factors for humanitarian response in the case of flood management include coordination, communication, knowledge, and preparedness. In it crucial to safeguard communities, thus, the unambiguous and clear standard of procedures or SOPs need to be in place at the integrated agencies for them to be understood and known by the individuals who execute them.

A Systematic Literature Review on Logistics Information Needs for Sharing in Malaysian Disaster Management

“…All the sub-themes are summarized according to their explanation, which can be referred at Figure 3. Analysis of 23 related articles collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases shows that six articles published in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022 focused on evacuation decision making in Malaysia [39][40][41][42][43][44], one study published in 2018 focuses on disaster management strategies [45], one study published in 2018 focuses on determination of locations for shelters and routes for disaster relief [46], one study published in 2019 focuses on mechanism of disaster management [47], two studies published in 2019 and 2020 focus on information management in disaster management [23,48], one study published in 2019 focused on communication mechanism in disaster management and success factor of humanitarian logistics [49], three studies published in 2020 and 2021 focused on humanitarian aid for disaster victims [50][51][52], two studies published in 2020 and 2021 focused on issue and challenges in disaster management [53,54], one study published in 2021 concentrated on logistics system in disaster management [54], one study published in 2022 focused on coordination in humanitarian supply chain [55], one study published in 2019 focused on issues in emergency operation and coordination center (EOCC) [56], and one study published in 2019 focused on disaster preparedness, response and recovery in disaster management [57]. Based on the observations gained from the analysis, multiple topics in disaster management are covered by previous research within the years 2018-2022.…”

“…Meanwhile, research [49] found that regular communication and honest, clear, and accurate information were the most suggested improvements from their respondents, which consisted of government organizations and non-government organizations, to ensure better coordination in logistics relief operations. Without communication with the information needed, planned coordination in logistic operations will not be successful [49].…”

Supply Chain Resilience in the Face of Floods: A Case Study of Humanitarian Efforts by the Social Welfare Department in Malaysia

“…In this study, planning the movement of goods scored a very strong uphill linear correlation (r=0.945). Furthermore, research conducted by Jaafar et al (2020) and Tamyez et al (2019) proved that planning the movement of goods was the most important predictor of the HSCM's effectiveness. The finding implies that JKMM should hire enough staff to strengthen its rescue team even though there are volunteers during any relief mission.…”

“…The researcher thus looked at the logistics of the movement of the product as planned by the Disaster Management and Relief Committee (Jaafar et al, 2020). Transport is especially crucial because of flood events, which necessitate evacuation to reach, according to Tamyez et al (2019).…”

“…The findings show that JKMM should improve their planning movement of goods to avoid unorganized circumstances during HSCM effectiveness-a previous study by Jaafar et al (2020). Khalid et al,2015, andTamyez et al (2019) found that the speed of delivering aid such as food, beverages, and others must also be improved during flood events to ensure, at times, meet the needs of flood victims.…”