Flood resilience in Malaysian cities: a case study of two towns in Johor state

Abstract

Purpose This paper has carried out a case study of two flood-prone towns in Johor state, Malaysia, to understand how resilient the residents and local authorities were in dealing with the flood disasters in terms of their ability to anticipate, mobilize institutional resources, adapt and respond. Design/methodology/approach This research conducted semi-structured interviews with flood-affected residents, flood disaster managers and planners, and assessed land use regulations and institutional strengths to answer the research question. Findings The results showed that the residents’ anticipatory capacity to flood risks was weak and both the human and institutional resources were insufficient in coping with and responding to urban flooding. Research limitations/implications This research has not carried out questionnaire survey of large number of residents. It is based on semi-structured interview of ten residents in two Malaysian cities. Practical implications The insights drawn from this research would help develop flood-resilient policies for Malaysian cities. The global communities exposed to flood disasters too benefit from the Malaysia’s minute but crucial human and institutional experiences in urban flooding. Social implications Being resilient to all these small but important flood concerns has huge potential to reduce vulnerability and disaster risks and protect the lives and properties of flood affected urban residents. Originality/value The research focus in Malaysia is less on flood resilience and more on flood modeling and hydrology analysis. In this sense, this research is new because it talks more on flood vulnerability and resilience issues at the community level and gives a perspective on current Malaysian town's state of flood resilience culture and practices.

Effect of the tide on flood modeling and mapping in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia

“…The estimated total loss due to these disasters was RM 1.5 billion of which, RM 237.1 million was for damaged infrastructure alone (Hamzah et al 2012;Tam et al 2014). A total of 11,724 victims in the Dec 2006 ood event and 7,915 victims in Jan 2007 were evacuated (Hamzah et al 2012;Tam et al 2014;Karki 2019). In some cases, ood victims had to move to another relief center as the evacuation centers were also ooded.…”

“…It was found that the main cause of the ood was due to a large amount of rainfall, geographically low laying area, rapid land-use changes, and tidal effect (Tam et al 2014;Karki 2019). The ood started on Dec 19, 2006, until Jan 16, 2007, where the rst wave had inundated most of the Kota Tinggi town.…”

Validation of GPM IMERG Extreme Precipitation in the Maritime Continent by Station and Radar Data

“…Being one of the wettest places on Earth, the Maritime Continent (MC) separates the Indian Ocean from the Pacific and encompasses the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, among others. This region experiences significant extreme precipitation (Hai et al., 2017; Warlina & Guinensa, 2019), which, combined with the high vulnerability of the local population (Abd Majid et al., 2019; Cabrera & Lee, 2020; Karki, 2019; Takama et al., 2017), can lead to severe consequences. An accurate prediction of extreme precipitation in the MC is therefore of crucial importance for society.…”

“…the local population (Abd Majid et al, 2019;Cabrera & Lee, 2020;Karki, 2019;Takama et al, 2017), can lead to severe consequences. An accurate prediction of extreme precipitation in the MC is therefore of crucial importance for society.…”

Physical flood vulnerability assessment of buildings in Kota Bharu, Malaysia: an indicator-based approach

“…In Malaysia, there is inequality in the level of advancement and development for assessing the different components of flood risk: flood hazard and exposure assessment studies are more advanced and developed. In contrast, flood vulnerability modeling and assessments are underdeveloped (Karki, 2019; Zakaria et al , 2017).…”