KOTA KINABALU: Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (MetMalaysia) memaklumkan ribut tropika dikesan berlaku kira-kira 1,402 kilometer ke Barat Laut Kudat boleh menyebabkan keadaan cuaca di rantau negara menjadi lebih kering dan kurang hujan.

MetMalaysia dalam notis Nasihat Ribut Tropika dikeluarkan pada 5.45 petang memaklumkan, keadaan cuaca itu menyebabkan pergerakan ribut ke arah barat laut dengan kelajuan lima kilometer sejam (5 km/j), manakala kelajuan angin maksimum 83 km/j.

Menurut MetMalaysia berdasarkan pencerapan pada 5 petang tadi, ribut tropika itu terjadi pada kedudukan latitud 17.5 utara dan longitud 109.8 timur, kira-kira 231 kilometer ke Timur Laut Da Nang, Vietnam.

KATHMANDU, June 12 — Communities across Asia’s Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned today.

Temperatures are expected to be up to two degrees Celsius hotter than average across the region, with forecasts for above-average rains, according to a monsoon outlook released by Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) yesterday.

“Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, and have longer-term impacts on glaciers, snow reserves, and permafrost,” Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a senior adviser at ICIMOD, said in a statement.

The summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 per cent of its annual rainfall, is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region that is home to around two billion people.

However, it also brings destruction through landslides and floods every year. Melting glaciers add to the volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.

“What we have seen over the years are also cascading disasters where, for example, heavy rainfall can lead to landslides, and landslides can actually block rivers. We need to be aware about such possibilities,” Saswata Sanyal, manager of ICIMOD’s Disaster Risk Reduction work, told AFP.

Last year’s monsoon season brought devastating landslides and floods across South Asia and killed hundreds of people, including more than 300 in Nepal.

This year, Nepal has set up a monsoon response command post, led by its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

“We are coordinating to stay prepared and to share data and alerts up to the local level for early response. Our security forces are on standby for rescue efforts,” said agency spokesman Ram Bahadur KC.

Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” of what is to come as climate change makes the planet’s water cycle ever more unpredictable. — AFP

PETALING JAYA – Seorang peniaga nasi kerabu berdepan detik sukar apabila almari makanan yang digunakan untuk menjual juadahnya terbalik ekoran angin kencang dan hujan lebat.

Menerusi sebuah video berdurasi 35 saat yang tular di media sosial, kelihatan peniaga berkenaan mengutip semula lauk-pauk yang bertaburan di atas tanah selepas kedainya dilanda ribut.

“Ujian buat kami pada hari ini. Semoga ada rezeki selepas hujan. Keadaan ribut amat kuat,” tulisnya pada ruangan kapsyen.

Tinjauan Kosmo! di ruangan komen mendapati rata-rata netizen meluahkan rasa simpati terhadap nasib yang menimpa peniaga tersebut.

“Inilah risiko peniaga tepi jalan. Semoga awak bertabah. Saya pun jual tapi bukan tepi jalan cumanya risau juga kalau hujan lebay dan ribut kuat macam ini,” kata Sue Yah.

“Semoga dipermudahkan urusan akak ini, diharapkan selepas ini jualan semakin laris,” komen Abe Mie.

“Ujian setiap peniaga datang berbeza-beza, terus cekal dan sentiasa tabah. Pasti, ada jalannya,” kata Pok Nick. -KOSMO! ONLINE

GUA MUSANG: Seramai 14 penduduk Orang Asli daripada dua keluarga di Kampung Kuala Wook di sini, berdepan risiko keselamatan selepas tebing di sekitar kediaman mereka terhakis sejak lebih dua minggu lepas yang mungkin boleh mengakibatkan tanah runtuh.

Penduduk suku Temiar, Hairi Pandak, 29, berkata, hakisan tanah bermula pada 24 Mei lepas susulan hujan lebat berterusan, menyebabkan paras air sungai meningkat dan arus deras.

"Kira-kira 8 malam, saya perasan tebing berhampiran rumah mula terhakis dan sebahagiannya runtuh. Beberapa pokok pisang dan ubi kayu yang ditanam turut rosak," katanya kepada pemberita di Kampung Kuala Wook di sini hari ini.

Seorang lagi penduduk, Salmah Awang, 55, berkata, hakisan tanah semakin membimbangkan kerana struktur tanah di tepi rumah yang didiami lebih 10 tahun itu terjejas akibat arus sungai yang deras.