OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
KUCHING (Sept 24): Three air quality monitoring stations in Sarawak recorded “Very Unhealthy” Air Pollutant Index (API) readings at 5pm today, with Lubok Antu entering the category while Serian improved to the “Unhealthy” level.
According to the Natural Resources and Environment Board’s (NREB) API Status for Sarawak, Kanowit recorded the highest reading at 216, unchanged from 1pm, followed by Lundu at 209, down from 219.
Lubok Antu’s API rose from 198 to 203, pushing it into the “Very Unhealthy” category, while Serian’s reading fell from 210 to 200.
Among the 12 stations recording “Unhealthy” air quality, Kapit recorded the biggest increase, with its API rising from 121 at 1pm to 133 at 5pm.
Kuching’s reading eased from 193 to 188, while Tebedu fell from 194 to 188 and Samarahan from 185 to 179.
The other “Unhealthy” readings were recorded in Betong (173), Sri Aman (172), Belaga (165), Bintulu (162), Sarikei (157), Sibu (156) and Samalaju (155).
Six stations recorded “Moderate” air quality: Mukah (99), Miri (85), Limbang (81), ILP Miri (80), Lawas (72) and Bario (70).
Mukah and Bario recorded no change from 1pm, while the other four stations registered lower readings.
Under the API classification, readings of 0 to 50 are considered “Good”, 51 to 100 “Moderate”, 101 to 200 “Unhealthy” and 201 to 300 “Very Unhealthy”.
Meanwhile, Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said the haze was occurring amid persistent dry weather in parts of the southern Asean region.
In a statement, she cited the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC) Sept 23 report, which recorded 792 hotspots in Kalimantan and 75 in Sumatra. No hotspots were detected in Malaysia, including Sarawak.
Azuri said the ASMC had also reported moderate transboundary smoke haze over north-western Borneo, with moderate to thick smoke plumes observed from clusters of hotspots in Kalimantan and southern Sumatra.
She said the DOE would continue monitoring fire risks, particularly in peatland areas and landfill sites, while intensifying inspections and patrols in areas vulnerable to open burning.
“The DOE will not compromise on any open burning found to have resulted from human activities, particularly where such activities contribute to deteriorating air quality,” she said.
Azuri also reminded the public that offences involving open burning under the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2024 carry fines ranging from RM25,000 to RM1 million, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
The public is urged to refrain from open burning and report any fire or open burning incidents to the Fire and Rescue Department via 999 or the DOE’s toll-free line at 1-800-88-2727.
KATHMANDU, Sept 24 — The tsunami-like flood that cut a swathe of destruction through Nepal on August 26 has left the Himalayan nation grappling with heavy losses and mounting reconstruction needs.
One month on, AFP looks at the scale of the disaster triggered by a high-altitude glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, which scientists have linked to climate change.
‘Bullet train’ of debris
On August 26 at 8.37am (08.52am Malaysia time), a mass of ice and rock broke away from the north face of Nepal’s Langtang Lirung mountain, sending a huge mass of debris racing down the valley.
The collapse began at an altitude of about 5,200 metres with a section more than a kilometre (0.6 miles) wide and extending roughly 700 metres vertically.
That mass of rock and ice plunged about 800 metres onto a debris-covered glacier, before surging downhill, briefly damming the Lhende River. Water and debris then burst downstream.
The debris travelled about 20 kilometres, dropping 1,700 metres at Rasuwagadhi in only seven minutes, said Sudan Bikash Maharjan, a geologist with the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
“The elevation difference is high, within a very short length,” Maharjan told AFP. “So it just rushed down like a bullet train.”
Heavy toll
Nepal’s disaster authority says 1,451 bodies have been recovered from the rubble and mud, while more than 5,700 people are missing.
Among the missing are hundreds of workers from hydropower projects swept away by the disaster, along with hundreds more foreigners including tourists and pilgrims caught in the floodwaters.
Identifying victims through DNA has proved a major challenge for Nepali authorities.
With morgues overwhelmed, many bodies have been buried in mass graves after their DNA was recorded.
So far, only about 100 bodies have been identified.
On the Chinese side, where apocalyptic images showed a border post obliterated, state media have reported 43 deaths and 519 people missing.
Rescue operations
Hundreds of rescuers, many deployed by helicopter, have spent weeks digging through mud and debris in search of survivors.
There have been rare breakthroughs. In Nepal, three workers — two Nepalis and a Chinese man — were rescued alive from tunnels under construction where they had been trapped.
One of them, 30-year-old Sanjay Sah, told AFP he survived 10 days in darkness by drinking muddy water and praying.
“I survived thanks to my deep faith and trust,” he said.
Rescuers continue to recover bodies from the vast expanse of sticky grey mud.
Aid efforts
The disaster has affected more than 80,000 people. Thousands who lost everything are living in emergency shelters.
The United Nations has launched an urgent appeal for nearly US$50 million in emergency aid.
Many communities near the epicentre remain cut off, with the UN and the Nepali government delivering supplies by helicopter and cargo drone.
Several countries have pledged financial support for Nepal, amounting to a few million dollars — far below the scale of the disaster.
Economic hit
Nepal estimates the reconstruction bill will amount to US$4.78 billion.
Of that, US$57 million is needed for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months.
The floods have cut Nepal’s electricity generation capacity — mainly hydropower — by 10 per cent, with the energy sector accounting for half of the total infrastructure damage from the disaster.
The floods have cut Nepal’s hydropower generation capacity as well as total electricity generation capacity by 10 per cent, with the energy sector accounting for half of the total infrastructure damage from the disaster.
Nepal’s economy is already under pressure, with limited resources to respond to a disaster of this scale.
The World Bank estimates 82 per cent of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at US$1,447 in 2024.
Climate change
From the first hours after the disaster, experts pointed to climate change as a contributing factor.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, but a “compound crisis” shaped by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability.
“There is no doubt that climate change is one of the drivers,” said Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London.
Nepal’s leaders say the country needs long-term international support to adapt to a rapidly changing mountain environment.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged the world to recognise the dangers of climate change and act quickly. — AFP
KATHMANDU, Sept 24 — Nepal’s top disaster official said an estimated 33,000 people affected by last month’s devastating flood will be required to resettle rather than returning home, as the South Asian nation grapples with the aftermath of the disaster that damaged over 7,500 buildings and has left thousands of people still missing, Kyodo News reported.
Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, told Kyodo News in an exclusive interview that the areas where flood marks — in some places 13 metres higher than normal river levels — are visible are to be declared “danger zones.”
“We know there is a possibility of future disaster. So, we don’t want to take more risk,” Uprety said earlier this week, adding that the affected population, estimated to be around 33,000 people, would be resettled in safer areas.
The August 26 flood and debris flow triggered, according to Nepal’s government, by an ice-and-rock avalanche in the upper Lhende Khola watershed in Tibet, killed 1,451 people and left about 5,700 people, including over 600 foreign nationals, missing in Nepal. Of the missing, five are Japanese nationals.
Uprety acknowledged that sentimental attachment to places where people are born and spend their lifetime poses a challenge in convincing flood-affected people to move to a safer place.
But he said teams from his office, the Department of Survey, and relevant ministries have already scouted safer areas close to the danger zones, so that the flood-affected can move to “safe settlement” and live with “dignity.”
Search operations at the tunnels of some of the 12 hydropower projects pummelled by the avalanche debris are winding down. Authorities are planning to announce the conclusion of such operations and move to post-disaster recovery at the end of this week.
“There is very, very little chance or no chance of getting any survivor,” he said.
The government has decided to extend the immediate assistance of approximately US$2,600 (RM10,600), or 400,000 Nepalese rupees, to each family as a housing grant, on top of a monthly allowance of US$98, or 15,000 Nepalese rupees, to each family of up to four members as livelihood and rental support.
For each additional member of the four-member household, an extra 2,000 rupees is provided as livelihood and rental support.
Earlier this month, the government estimated US$4.77 billion would be needed for initial recovery from the flood, but Uprety said the amount is expected to increase.
“That (US$4.77 billion) is an initial estimate based on rapid assessment. It did not include the costs the government will have to bear to compensate flood-affected citizens for nationalising their privately-owned land, now designated as a danger zone,” he said.
“The final recovery need could very easily be double the initial estimate,” Uprety told Kyodo News.
Cash-strapped Nepal is hoping that part of the need will be met through Nepal’s development partners including Japan, China, India, Britain, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, among others. — Bernama-Kyodo
Cheras landslide displaces 80 residents; families wait on safety verdict before returning home
- Admin UKK
- Berita
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — The duration of the evacuation for residents affected by the landslide at Block D of Damai Perdana Apartments in Bandar Damai Perdana, Cheras, will depend on a technical assessment of the building’s structural safety.
Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) Councillor for Zone 6 Tan Kah Hoe said observations and assessments by the relevant agencies, which began yesterday, continued today, with the full technical report expected to be ready within the next few days.
The agencies involved include the Public Works Department (JKR), Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS), Minerals and Geoscience Department (JMG) and MPKj.
“I have asked the agencies to complete the report as soon as possible. They said it would take a few days,” he told Bernama when contacted here today.
On the water supply disruption affecting the four-block apartment complex, which comprises 360 residential units, Tan said water supply had been restored to Blocks A and B this morning.
“Block D remains without water supply, while restoring the supply to Block C is taking a little longer as the relevant authorities are identifying the route of the affected pipeline,” he said.
On the affected residents, Tan said 15 local families were currently staying at the temporary relief centre (PPS) at the Desa Baiduri community hall as of yesterday, compared with four families initially.
“For now, accommodation and food for the affected residents are being managed by the Social Welfare Department.
“Police are also assisting with security at the affected homes to ensure the area remains safe,” he said.
On Tuesday, about 80 residents from 45 units at Block D were ordered to evacuate immediately following a landslide on the hillside near the block at about 8pm, believed to have been caused by an underground water leak. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR – Operasi Pembenihan Awan (OPA) dilaksanakan Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur dan Putrajaya bermula hari ini dan esok, susulan bacaan Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU) bagi parameter PM2.5 di kawasan terbabit melebihi 150 selama lebih 24 jam.
Ketua Pengarah Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (NADMA), Datuk Meor Ismail Meor Akim berkata, operasi itu dilaksanakan dengan kerjasama Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (MET Malaysia), Pihak Berkuasa Penerbangan Awam Malaysia (CAAM) dan Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM).
“Pesawat C-130 Hercules milik TUDM akan digunakan sebagai aset utama bagi menjalankan operasi berkenaan,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.
Jelasnya, pembenihan awan adalah antara usaha kerajaan bagi membantu mengurangkan kesan jerebu serta memperbaiki kualiti udara di kawasan terjejas.
“Pelaksanaan operasi bagaimanapun tertakluk kepada keadaan cuaca dan kewujudan awan yang sesuai bagi proses pembenihan,” katanya lagi.
Dalam masa sama, katanya, NADMA berrsama agensi berkaitan akan terus memantau perkembangan jerebu dan keadaan cuaca semasa bagi memastikan tindakan bersesuaian dapat diselaraskan dari semasa ke semasa.
Sebagai rekod, keadaan jerebu di Selangor, Kuala Lumpur dan Putrajaya berada pada tahap tidak sihat dengan bacaan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) melebihi 150 di kebanyakan kawasan.
Baru-baru ini dilaporkan, Johan Setia, Selangor mencatat IPU tertinggi iaitu 198; Shah Alam (170).
Di Wilayah Persekutuan KL pula, Batu Muda/Cheras mencatat IPU Sekitar 155 hingga 171, manakala Putrajaya 171. – MalaysiaGazette