Flooding is a rather common occurrence in our country, and especially serious ones happen in the east coast causing great damage year after year. Malaysians simply accept this along with the losses that come with it. Those who are lucky can move some of their belongings to a higher floor, but usually it will be too late by the time we realise it is flooding.

What if, these people are told that there is a high chance that there will be a flood soon? Do you think that they would leave their expensive belongings on the lower floors? Would they still sit in their houses, putting their children and loved ones in danger? Probably not.

The potential to reduce the cost of damages simply by being prepared is very high. Yet, time and again, we are forced to count our losses, wait for government aid and lose our important sources of income. We spend billions on flood mitigation and damage recovery, but we still face huge losses in the next flood.

This does not mean that flood mitigation is not important. It simply means that the cost of damage can be further reduced if the people are given adequate time to prepare.

It is common for floods to occur during the monsoon season, and the next round is just around the corner! There is also this phenomenon known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation which brings increased rainfall. All these can be predicted, and the technology to do this is available. Even if we cannot predict months or weeks ahead, a simple one to two days heads-up would be a great help.

Having the technology to make accurate forecast is not enough though, we also need greater efforts to notify the people of any incoming heavy rain and floods. Just like how the people are constantly warned about incoming dry seasons and droughts, they should also be getting forecasts for heavy rainfall and possible floods. It would be a waste for such useful information to just sit in a government website or database.

The main point I would like to make is, instead of putting all our money into flood mitigation, why not invest some in weather forecasting and making sure the information reaches the public? If the people themselves can make the proper preparations, surely the burden on the government would become lower. Wouldn’t it be much easier to save ourselves if floods were no longer a ‘surprise’?

NAH KOK WAI is research and policy executive, Forum Air Malaysia.