Penang ready for La Nina phenomenon
The state government, through the State Disaster Management Committee had also mobilised all technical agencies and rescue teams to ensure maximum preparedness.
GEORGE TOWN - All state and federal government agencies in Penang are on full alert to deal with any possibility of flooding due to heavy rains during the La Nina phenomenon between October and December.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government, through the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN), had also mobilised all technical agencies and rescue teams to ensure maximum preparedness.
He said based on monitoring by the Meteorological Department (METMalaysia), the transition from ENSO-neutral to La Nina phase is expected to occur between October and December and Penang is expected to receive monthly rainfall at an average level of between 60 mm to 430 mm for the period from October to March 2026.
"The average number of rainy days in Penang during that period is between 8 to 21 days a month with the highest number of rainy days expected in October.
"This weather condition can cause flash floods, fallen trees and damage to unstable building structures and therefore, all agencies need to ensure that assets, logistics and manpower are on standby," he told a press conference at his Komtar office here today.
Chow said the State Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) had also implemented several preparedness measures, including the maintenance of reservoirs, rivers and drainage systems in flood-prone areas, as well as inspections of hydrological stations and telemetric systems to ensure proper functioning of all equipment.
He said logistical preparations and operational equipment such as rescue boats, mobile water pumps, lorries and four-wheel drive vehicles were also prepared for swift deployment in the event of a flood.
"I would like to state that preparedness is the best measure and all parties need to be ready, from the disaster management agency, rescue teams, to the local community whose role is to contact the authorities in the event of an incident or disaster,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the local authorities (PBT), the Public Works Department and the JPS to ensure that the drainage system is not clogged by garbage.
He said simple measures such as cleaning drains and ditches needed to be done immediately and the JPS also needed to ensure that all water pumps were functioning well and that the keys to the pump houses were easily accessible to avoid delays during flood response operations.
Chow said the Village Community Management Council (MPKK) is now also responsible for keeping a set of the pump keys to ensure that the system can be activated immediately if needed.
"We hope that all agencies can carry out preliminary work before the rains and if flooding occurs, assistance can be channeled immediately,” he added.
He said the Flood Operations Control Centre (PKOB) at the state and district levels are also ready to be activated to carry out monitoring and coordinating operations if a disaster occurs.
According to Chow, the state government has identified 389 relief centres (PPS) that can be activated at any time if a disaster occurs.
''The Penang State Disaster Command Centre (SDCC) is also on full alert with a communication system, database and special disaster hotline ready to be used. It will be the main coordination centre between all state, district and federal agencies in collecting and distributing disaster information in real time,'' he said.
The La Nina phenomenon which is expected to hit the country from October to December could have a major impact on Malaysia.
MetMalaysia, in a statement, said that the long-term weather for October to March 2026 is based on the consensus of several climate forecast models, including global phenomena that shape the country's current weather such as ENSO, Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are also referred to. - BERNAMA
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