Tropical Depression 29’s landfall cause of flood disasters, govt questioned over lack of alerts

KUALA LUMPUR – As Typhoon Rai (Odette) pounds hard at the Philippines, its repercussions are now hitting Malaysia.

Dubbed “Tropical Depression 29”, it is categorised as a rapidly rotating storm system commonly referred to as a tropical cyclone that sustains winds between 50km/h and 60km/h.

As Typhoon Odette pounds hard at the Philippines, its repercussions are now hitting Malaysia.

Dubbed “Tropical Depression 29”, it is categorised as a rapidly rotating storm system commonly referred to as a tropical cyclone that sustains winds between 50km/h and 60km/h. pic.twitter.com/GX2gWYKmCs

— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) December 18, 2021

According to security services site GardaWorld, Tropical Depression 29 was headed westwards across central Peninsular Malaysia yesterday.

As of 11am yesterday, the storm’s centre of circulation was estimated to be 352km northwest of Singapore.

Based on forecast models, the storm is expected to weaken today – despite reports of floods hitting various states in Malaysia.

“It is expected to weaken to a low-pressure area, on reaching the west coast of Malaysia and the neighbouring Strait of Malacca.

“The weather system is likely to remain over the Strait of Malacca, adjoining the Malay Peninsula and South Andaman Sea today and tomorrow without any further intensification,” a report by SkyMetWeather stated.

Meanwhile, Facebook user Pamela Lim said she had initially received a notification about Tropical Depression 29, and questioned why similar alerts were not issued by the Malaysian government.

So far, the Malaysian Meteorological Department has notified the public on continuous heavy rains, and issued an alert concerning a “significant weather forecast” on December 14-18.

RAMALAN CUACA SIGNIFIKAN (14-18 DISEMBER 2021).

Untuk maklumat lanjut mengenai ramalan cuaca boleh didapati di laman web MET Malaysia di https://t.co/mBqqJwtbUJ.#KeluargaMalaysiaSiagaBencana pic.twitter.com/UpLGENqkWU

— NADMA Malaysia (@mynadma) December 14, 2021

“As Typhoon Rai pounds the Philippines, Tropical Depression 29 made landfall in Malaysia, wreaking havoc with landslides and floods throughout its path.

“I was alerted by my Disaster Alert app yesterday morning at 5am before it made landfall, and proceeded to send precautionary messages out to industry peers, the authorities, and friends up in the highlands.

“What’s strange (or shall we say, expected?) is that there were no warnings given by our country’s Meteorological Department, and no news or updates,” Lim stated on her Facebook post. – The Vibes, December 18, 2021