We will experience erratic weather by year end. No doubt about it, considering the six surges of the northwestern monsoon, expected to last for days.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department says we can expect this weather condition to last until March, causing floods in many areas.

Most state governments are preparing to face the worst, with federal government agencies standing by to assist.

How serious the floods will be this time, we cannot be sure. Many were unprepared the last time it flooded. 

There is a sense of preparedness this time around. Voluminous discussions on how to manage floods and floods victims are available in the media.

Out of all the natural disasters, floods are the most common in developed and developing countries, accounting for about 40 per cent of natural disasters.

Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asian countries are in a region that is prone to frequent floods and severe natural disasters.

The frequency and severity of flooding in Asean countries have increased over the past several decades. Flooding affects Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 10 million people in Southeast Asia were affected by floods yearly.

This region makes up more than two-thirds of the global population exposed to flood risk.

In a recent study published in Nature, a British weekly scientific journal, 1.81 billion are exposed to floods yearly.

The recent floods in Pakistan resulted in more than 1,400 lives lost with 31 per cent of its population, or 72 million, at risk of flooding, and one-third of the country being under water.

Flooding has severe implications on health before, during and after its onset.

Not many think about the health risks that can occur before it. There is an increased rate of mild injuries before the onset of a flood when people are advised to move their families to a safe location.

If left untreated, these injuries can have larger implications on morbidity and mortality if an open wound is exposed to contaminated water.

During floods, there is potential for injury and death.

Most deaths that are related to floods are due to drowning, which occurs when people attempt to wade through high and fast-moving water.

During floods, people also die from being struck by objects in fast-moving water, heart attacks and electrocution.

Some die due to being buried in mud or collapsed infrastructure.

The death toll from the nation's worst floods last year was 27, with 20 deaths in the Klang Valley, mostly due to drowning.

Compare this with the number of flood victims in Southeast Asia countries.

In 2011, there were 567 deaths due to floods in Thailand, 248 deaths in Cambodia, 85 deaths in Vietnam, 30 deaths in Laos and 102 deaths in the Philippines, with a total of 1,302 deaths in Southeast Asia.

After a flood, there is potential for an increase in communicable diseases, particularly faecal-oral ones.

These are spread when faecal matter enters the mouth, and are more common in flood-hit areas due to inadequate sanitation, lack of access to safe drinking water, and the consumption of contaminated foods.

Other faecal-oral diseases that may occur include typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, polio, hepatitis A and hepatitis E.

So if we hold the 15th General Election during the monsoon season, think about people's wellbeing first.

Some felt that we should dissolve Parliament and hold the election by Nov 21, but are we prepared to have people lose lives over power play and political ambition?

Surely many are not torn over this choice, no matter what economic experts and political pundits have forecast.

The writer, a former NST journalist, is a film scriptwriter whose penchant is finding new food haunts

https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2022/09/834071/are-we-prepared-have-people-lose-lives-monsoon-election