Evaluating flood early warning system and public preparedness and knowledge in urban and semi-urban areas of Johor, Malaysia: Challenges and opportunities
Zulfaqar Sa’adi , Muhammad Wafiy Adli Ramli , Wan Asiah Nurjannah Wan Ahmad Tajuddin , Nor Zaiha Arman , Che Hafizan Che Hassan , Muhamad Anwar Ramzan , Zulkifli Yusop , Nor Eliza Alias
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of floods by providing timely information to the public, which is particularly important for flood-prone areas in the Malaysian State of Johor that have suffer significant damages and disruptions almost every year. This research presents an assessment into the current state of FEWS through expert interviews and consultations with the concerned department to understand the management and institutional status and challenges in employing FEWS. In addition, a total of 106 structured questionnaires were administered as part of the survey research to a sample of residents in urban Johor Bahru and semi-urban Kota Tinggi, two regions vulnerable to floods, to collect data on their level of preparedness and knowledge, and their perceived effectiveness of FEWS. The analysis revealed that 69.8 % of the respondents did not have any knowledge on the FEWS in their place, and 60.5 % respondents turn to social media to gain information on flood warning, occurrence and forecast. This study also evaluates the opportunity for the messaging application as an additional support system for FEWS. The research highlights and identifies the challenges and barriers to accessing and utilising FEWS. The study calls for the incorporation of messaging application, preferable WhatsApp to transmit early warnings to the end-users and to use their feedback in designing/redesigning the FEWS. The findings can inform policy and decision-making processes aimed at improving flood preparedness and response strategies, and contribute to the existing literature on FEWS in Malaysia and other similar regions.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (IJDRR) is the journal for researchers, policymakers and practitioners across diverse disciplines: earth sciences and their implications; environmental sciences; engineering; urban studies; geography; and the social sciences. IJDRR publishes fundamental and applied research, critical reviews, policy papers and case studies with a particular focus on multi-disciplinary research that aims to reduce the impact of natural, technological, social and intentional disasters. IJDRR stimulates exchange of ideas and knowledge transfer on disaster research, mitigation, adaptation, prevention and risk reduction at all geographical scales: local, national and international.
Key topics:-
-multifaceted disaster and cascading disasters
-the development of disaster risk reduction strategies and techniques
-discussion and development of effective warning and educational systems for risk management at all levels
-disasters associated with climate change
-vulnerability analysis and vulnerability trends
-emerging risks
-resilience against disasters.
The journal particularly encourages papers that approach risk from a multi-disciplinary perspective.