City centres most vulnerable to continuous rainfall from monsoon season, says expert

SHAH ALAM - Malaysians need to be ready for heavy rains since the country will experience a transition phase of monsoon beginning from March 14th until mid-May.

Hydrology expert, Professor Dr Zulkifli Yusop from University Technology Malaysia said that the water level from the seas and rivers will rise depending on the intensity of rainfall.

According to him, heavy rain throughout the beginning of February till March is very unusual for Kuala Lumpur which caused severe floods a few days back.

"Depends on where the rain falls. City centres are most likely to be affected compared to the upstream areas," he said to Sinar Daily.

Zulkifli also added that the Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) must alert the public frequently on thunderstorms warning and weather updates through all social media platforms.

"The public was not ready then in December 2021 were severe floods occurred in few areas. I hope Malaysians are more aware now of the weather updates and they must stay alert to face potential disasters,'' he said.

This comes days after flash floods hit the Kuala Lumpur city centre which caused massive property losses.

Last year in December, several areas in the country and especially the Klang Valley has faced the worst series of floods in recent decades, displacing thousands and killing 25 people in the incident.