PUTRAJAYA (March 21): The National Flood Forecasting and Warning Programme (PRAB) Phase 1 has successfully developed hydrological data and flood warnings for use by various flood management agencies in preparation for such disasters, said the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra).

In a statement on Thursday, it said that with a cost of RM129 million, the ministry through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) has also developed infrastructure and systems for the implementation of PRAB in river basins in Terengganu, Kelantan, and Pahang.

Petra said that the cost includes the construction of 347 telemetry hydrological stations, installation of 132 sirens, and flood modelling systems.

"The hydrological data from these stations are displayed on the website https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my/ as early flood warnings to disaster management agencies and the public.

"This data is also used by other agencies such as the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), Tenaga Nasional Bhd [TNB], and state water management bodies based on their respective needs," the statement said.

Petra said this in response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report regarding PRAB Phase 1 issued on Wednesday.

The PAC presented a report on PRAB under Petra and made seven follow-up recommendations following proceedings on Jan 16 after calling witnesses from the ministry, JPS, and MetMalaysia.

PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin was reported as saying that the committee found that the government's expenditure of RM129 million for PRAB Phase 1 was not justified.

Mas Ermieyati said this was due to the fact that the flood water level readings and the forecast regarding the timing and location of floods (known as HIT) were not 100% accurate.

Meanwhile, Petra informed that besides that, the flood modelling system has been successfully developed using a hydrodynamic approach.

According to it, the system can generate flood forecasts for seven days using rainfall data forecast by MetMalaysia.

It said before the implementation of this programme, the East Coast areas only had two flood forecast models based on conventional models without precise flood forecast and warning information according to specific areas or HIT.

"The HIT achievement of 5.6% refers to 18 areas that have achieved precise warning forecasts, meaning when flood warnings were issued and actual events occurred at the predicted locations.

"This HIT achievement has successfully protected a total of 4,500 residents, and an estimated flood loss value of RM5.31 million was avoided.

"Meanwhile, 56.5% of the areas within a 5km radius of 183 warned areas also benefitted," it said.

With this achievement, the ministry said that overall flood warning effectiveness is 62%, which is in line with the global achievement level where HIT accuracy ranges from 50% to 70%.

"This accuracy is influenced by variable factors such as rainfall distribution, wind, air pressure, and ambient temperature according to time and space," it explained.

Additionally, Petra said flood warnings are also conveyed to the public through various platforms such as social media and mass media, including five million SMSes resulting from collaboration between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), to residents to make necessary preparations.

In this regard, it also welcomed the recommendations put forward by the PAC and would take appropriate action to ensure that accurate information is received by the public.

"The ministry has also taken and is taking appropriate actions to improve the implementation of PRAB and will ensure that the implementation of PRAB Phase 2 and Phase 3 is more planned and smooth," it said.

Among other things in the report, as part of the PRAB improvement measures, the Parliamentary PAC recommended six steps to be implemented by Petra and JPS, including ensuring that the remaining 79 stations out of 118 stations undergo the remote terminal unit (RTU) replacement immediately to ensure that the PRAB functions effectively.