KUALA NERUS: Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (MetMalaysia) Terengganu menguji sistem baharu siren amaran tsunami yang mampu memberi amaran lebih pantas.
Pengarahnya, Rosli Zakaria, berkata pengujian dilakukan di Seberang Takir, di sini, bagi memastikan sistem amaran bencana itu berfungsi pada tahap baik dan optimum.
Sistem siren baharu itu adalah sebahagian usaha MetMalaysia menaik taraf sistem amaran tsunami di negeri ini. Katanya, bunyi siren selama beberapa minit itu boleh didengari sejauh dua kilometer.
"Siren ini adalah menara keempat dipasang di negeri ini selepas Besut, Dungun dan Kemaman dengan kos pembinaan melebihi RM100,000 setiap satu.
"Projek ini dilaksanakan oleh Bahagian Teknikal Cuaca dan Gempa Bumi MetMalaysia dengan menggunakan teknologi dari Denmark," katanya.
Menurutnya, menara berkenaan mampu memberikan liputan amaran, tetapi bergantung kepada keadaan cuaca dan bentuk muka bumi.
"Segala maklumat selain data berkaitan amaran tsunami diperoleh dan dikendalikan dari Pusat Operasi Cuaca dan Gempa Bumi Nasional yang berpusat di Ibu Pejabat MetMalaysia di Petaling Jaya," katanya.
PETALING JAYA – Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia) mengeluarkan amaran ribut petir susulan jangkaan hujan lebat berserta angin kencang di tujuh negeri sehingga pukul 12 tengah hari ini.
MetMalaysia menerusi kenyataan berkata, hujan lebat dijangka melanda seluruh Perlis serta sebahagian negeri Kedah (Langkawi, Kubang Pasu, Kota Setar, Pokok Sena, Padang Terap, Yan, Pendang, Kuala Muda, Sik dan Bandar Baharu).
“Cuaca sama turut dijangka di seluruh Pulau Pinang serta Perak (Larut, Matang Dan Selama, Kuala Kangsar, Kinta, Perak Tengah, Kampar dan Batang Padang).
“Di Pahang, kawasan yang diramalkan hujan lebat pula adalah Tanah Tinggi Cameron,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.
Sementara itu, MetMalaysia berkata cuaca buruk turut dijangka di Johor melibatkan kawasan Pontian, Kulai, Kota Tinggi dan Johor Bahru.
“Di Sarawak kawasan yang diramal hujan pagi ini adalah Bintulu (Bintulu) dan Miri (Subis, Miri dan Marudi). – KOSMO! ONLINE
ARAU: The installation of an electric and diesel pump station, along with 15 mobile emergency pumps, is expected to help address the perennial problem of flooded padi fields in Perlis during the monsoon season.
State Agriculture, Plantation and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Razali Saad said the initiative was part of the state government's ongoing efforts to mitigate the issue, which affects nearly 3,233ha of padi under the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada).
"The main aim is to expedite the outflow of water from the fields so that padi crops are not damaged. With this measure, we hope to reduce the impact of floods on farmers whenever their fields are inundated.
"Such incidents typically occur during heavy rains from May to June and September to November," he told reporters after inspecting sites in Kampung Telaga Haji Latif, Kampung Telok and Kampung Paloh in Guar Sanji today with Mada representatives.
He said past floods had highlighted the urgent need to expedite long-planned drainage upgrades in the area. "We expect the project to begin next month and be completed by May next year," he said.
Razali added that the move would allow farmers to plant padi according to Mada's planting schedule, avoiding delays that could disrupt production.
"With these facilities in place, farmers, especially those in this area, will be able to follow the scheduled planting phases, which is crucial to improving yields," he said.
In November last year, continuous rainfall over several days inundated 3,233ha of padi fields in Mada's Zone I territory in Perlis.
The floods damaged a large portion of crops, affecting 1,100 farmers and residents, some of whom had to bear the additional cost of replanting.
KUALA LUMPUR: Paras air di Empangan Bukit Merah, Perak, dilaporkan masih berada pada tahap kritikal dan mencapai status 'aras henti bekalan pengairan', sekali gus menjejaskan kelancaran bekalan air ke kawasan sekitar.
Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) Perak dalam hantaran di Facebook, berkata setakat semalam, bacaan paras air mencatat 6.17 meter seperti ditetapkan prosedur operasi standard (SOP) pengendalian empangan dengan baki simpanan air sebanyak 8.0351 juta meter padu (14.75 peratus).
Katanya, keadaan itu memaksa bekalan air ke sawah padi dihentikan sementara bagi memberi laluan kepada pembekalan air mentah kepada penduduk sekitar.
"Kita berharap semua pihak mendoakan hujan segera bagi menambah simpanan air empangan yang dapat memulihkan bekalan pengairan ke sawah padi semula," katanya.
Sebelum ini bacaan air Empangan Bukit Merah mencatatkan peningkatan daripada 6.03 meter kepada 6.096 meter sehari selepas Operasi Pembenihan Awan (OPA) dilaksanakan yang menghasilkan hujan di beberapa kawasan terbabit.
Bagaimanapun, status semasa empangan masih di tahap aras henti bekalan pengairan seperti ditetapkan dalam SOP sedia ada.
Peningkatan simpanan kolam empangan itu sedikit sebanyak membantu memanjangkan tempoh bekalan air bagi keperluan domestik, namun bekalan air bagi tujuan pengairan ke Rancangan Pengairan Kerian masih belum dapat dimulakan semula.
NEW DELHI: A deadly flood that devastated an Indian Himalayan town this week was likely caused by a collapsing glacier, worsened by climate change, experts said.
Scores remain missing after a torrent of water and debris tore through Dharali in Uttarakhand state on Tuesday.
Videos show people fleeing before being engulfed by waves that uprooted buildings and buried others in freezing mud.
At least four deaths have been confirmed, with over 50 still missing. Officials initially blamed an intense “cloudburst,“ but experts argue heavy rains merely triggered the disaster after days of soil saturation.
P.K. Joshi, a Himalayan hazards specialist, suggested a moraine dam holding glacial meltwater collapsed, causing a flash flood.
“Given the persistent rainfall and sudden discharge, a glacial lake outburst flood or moraine dam failure is suspected,“ Joshi told AFP.
He noted unstable sediment zones upstream contributed to the flood’s destructive force. Satellite checks for debris sources remain hampered by cloud cover, leaving no definitive confirmation.
Safi Ahsan Rizvi of India’s disaster agency also cited a “glacio-fluvial debris landslide” as the likely cause. Glaciologist Sandip Tanu Mandal pointed to excessive meltwater and rainfall filling a glacial lake before its potential collapse.
Mandal noted the flood’s water volume far exceeded rainfall levels, indicating a lake breach. Himalayan glaciers, vital for two billion people, are melting rapidly due to climate change, raising disaster risks.
Permafrost thaw increases landslide threats, compounding hazards in the fragile region. Joshi warned the disaster underscores the “interconnected nature of Himalayan hazards.”
Unchecked development in floodplains worsened the damage, he added. – AFP
