INGENIEUR JAN-MAR 2017 Vol 69 2017 | Page 13

8.3
8.3
Frequency
12.5 62.5
Figure 5 : The flooded Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV in Kota Bahru , Kelantan
10.4
13.9
11.6
Mortality
39.9
24.1
Figure 4 : The Statistics of Natural Disasters in Malaysia 1990-2014 ( Source : CRED EM-DAT , 2015 )
Figure 6 : One of the submerged connecting roads in Kota Bahru , Kelantan flood incidents , more than half a million people were badly affected and the damage caused to public infrastructures was estimated to be around RM 2.9 billion . The Federal Government had to bear a massive cost for ad-hoc repair work in the affected states , which was estimated to be around RM 800 million . The Federal Government also had to put aside an additional allocation of RM 893 million in the National Budget 2015 for repair and maintenance works in order to ensure all the assets and services , which had been rendered temporarily ineffective due to the impact of the floods could be operated as usual .
All damage induced by that kind of natural disaster on public infrastructures and human fatalities were not only triggered by acts of God . Human factors from daily activities also contributed to the frequent occurrence of natural disasters all over the world . Illegal human activities such as deforestation , forest degradation , cultivation and construction contributed to the high incidence of natural disaster in Malaysia . For
the last two years , there have been frequent flash floods and landslides occuring in various locations within the nation ’ s big cities . For instance , a major flash flood that hit several areas in the Klang Valley at the end of 2015 badly affected the operation of several major highways including the Guthrie Corridor Expressway ( GCE ) and the Konsortium Expressway Shah Alam Selangor ( KESAS ) as shown in Figures 7 and 8 respectively . A slope along the Subang Jaya exit of the KESAS gave in and caused a portion of the sidewall to collapse .
Apart from major floods , heavy downpours also caused a number of massive landslide incidents at the end of 2015 . Among the significant landslide incidents include the one that took place at KM52.4 of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway where four vehicles were buried under the mudslide and the eight passengers trapped in the vehicles had to be rescued . No casualties were reported in this incident . The after-event impact is shown in Figure 9 . Most recently , the landslide that cut off the road connection between Teluk Bahang
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