RM145mil national flood warning system a failure

PETALING JAYA: The RM145mil National Flood Forecasting and Warning Programme Phase 1 (2015-2022) has produced a dismal performance, with its forecast accuracy at only 5.6%.

The programme was also found to be incapable of issuing warnings and announcements two days prior to the occurrence of floods, said the Auditor-General’s Report.

The report listed several recommendations to ensure the programme meets its objectives in providing effective and efficient flood forecasting and warning services to minimise the impact of floods.

An audit was done on Phase One of the programme, involving three river basins in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.

“Audit checks found only 32 of 83 flood warnings were issued two days earlier while 51 warnings were issued less than two days before floods occurred,” it said.

The report, among others, found that the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) did not perform preventive maintenance on any of the 204 flood warning stations after the warranty period expired.

“If malfunctioning equipment is not repaired, there is a risk of financial loss. It is recommended that maintenance be done according to plan to ensure that stations and equipment are functioning properly,” it said.

The report also found that data from 118 pieces of equipment was not received at the gateway for three consecutive months, putting at risk the accuracy of flood forecasting.

At the same time, 46.5% of the rainfall data and 58.7% of the water level data displayed on the InfoBanjir portal were not from the programme.

“The DID should determine the best method to ensure more stable data transmission from the hydrological telemetry stations to the gateway after the discontinuation of the 3G network,” the report said.

The audit found that while the programme assists the department in making flood forecasts and warnings, achievement in terms of delivery, however, was less satisfactory with regard to issuing flood warnings.

In response, the department said late flood warnings were due to several factors, including dynamic changes in the weather and “significant weather occurrences” that only allow for floods to be detected in less than two days.

The department pointed out that the Philippine Public Storm Warning System issues forecasts 36 hours before incidents.

However, the audit report was of the view that the warning system’s ability and the dissemination of monsoon flood information from six hours to two days earlier was unsatisfactory.

The National Flood Forecasting and Warning Programme is being implemented in two phases, with an initial allocation of RM530mil.