Flood Disaster Management in Malaysia: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Review

Abstract

Flood is a natural weather-related disaster frequently occurring in Malaysia. One of the greatest challenges that Malaysia faces today is recognizing the magnitude of risks posed by flooding. The public, private and NGOs should deliberate the amount of investments required to reduce the flood risk, including making appropriate emergency preparations, strengthening the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and finding new solution for minimizing risk related to flood disaster. The current existing SOPs indicate that there is still lack of holistic flood risk management system to minimize this problem. The country should be committed to establish a national policy on flood risk management that requires effective, economical, sustainable, and consistent management of flood risk to people, properties, and communities. Risk management has been established as a well-defined procedure for handling risks due to natural, environmental, and man-made hazards. A risk management can be applied at every level of the action: planning, design, and operation level. A holistic flood risk management system will evaluate the potential risk before, during, and after the flood disaster. The paper reviews the current SOPs implemented by the agencies dealing with flood disaster in Malaysia.