Weather expert forecasts 'significant flooding' within next three days

PETALING JAYA: A weather expert has forecast that the nation will experience significant flooding within the next three days due to heavy monsoon rain triggered by the active La Nina and negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) phenomena.

National Antarctica Research Centre meteorological expert Professor Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah told Sinar Harian that the monsoon rain has not only created strong winds over the South China Sea but also the La Nina and IOD phenomena, which has caused an increase of rain resulting in flooding in the east coast of the peninsula.

He also said the forecast from global models such as Nullschool.net predicted that heavy rain is expected until Tuesday (Dec 13) night.

He said the La Nina and negative IOD phenomena acting in parallel have caused continuous rain in several states.

"More heavy rain increases the potential for major floods to occur within these three days," he told Sinar Harian on Monday (Dec 12).

He said that continuous rain would also cause rivers to rise to dangerous water levels, adding that if the heavy downpour continues, rivers would overflow and lead to major floods in several states.

He said the states that could experience major floods include Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak.

Azizan, however, said both the La Nina and IOD phenomena would subside by the end of the year, easing the stimulus for rain and prolonged rainy weather.

"By early 2023, the weather is expected to be good especially in the east coast of the peninsula," he said.

However, he added that heavy rain in Sabah and Sarawak occurs in January and February, a month or so later than in the peninsula.

"So the phenomenon of heavy rain due to the north-east monsoon is not expected to subside in East Malaysia," he explained.

On Monday (Dec 12), the Irrigation and Drainage Department's (DID) National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre issued a warning of possible flash floods within 24 hours in six states – Penang, Negri Sembilan, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu and Pahang.

The notice was based on weather forecast reports from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), the South-Eastern Asia-Oceania Flash Flood Guidance System (SAOFFGS) and the DID flood forecasting models, which indicated that there would be a risk of flash floods hitting several locations in those states should heavy rain or significant thunderstorms occur.