KUALA LUMPUR – Klang resident Yasmin Nihar Shaik Mohammed is no stranger to floods. Since moving to Taman Sri Pelabuhan in 2005, she and her family have endured quite a few.
But what used to be a case of trudging through just a couple of inches of water has now become a gauntlet of chest-deep deluges, the 43-year-old housewife said.
“Throughout our time living here, it has been a trauma,” the mother of three told a forum on The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Areas organised by Klang MP Charles Santiago yesterday.
However, the trials that Yasmin and her family faced have not happened in isolation. Sea levels have steadily risen, and Klang – as with many other coastal areas nationwide – is sinking.
More than 50 people were killed and thousands of others displaced by severe flooding across the country in December, one of the worst disasters to have struck the nation in decades.
But experts say things could get worse, with hundreds of thousands of Klang’s inhabitants potentially displaced from their homes within the next 30 years if no concrete action is taken.
In 2015, the National Hydraulic Research Institute warned that over eight million Malaysians could be affected by the end of the century due to rising sea levels caused by climate change.
The Centre for Governance and Political Studies, a behavioural and social science research firm, released a report in November 2019 showing how several Malaysian cities, including major parts of Klang, could be submerged by 2050.
A remedy to rising sea levels will require prompt, united action by countries across the world to rein in the global rise in temperatures, experts have said. Locally, a solution will cost a bomb.
Mass migration likely
Klima Action Malaysia chairwoman Illi Nadiah Dzulfakar said Malaysia is not among the top global contributors to climate change, but it is not spared from its effects.
Beyond losing coastal areas to rising sea levels, climate change could also cause water supply insecurity, food production issues and potentially widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, she said.
“We are not just talking about losing infrastructure, but we will be losing lands. Many will be displaced and will have to move. The youth are worried, because if we survive the next 50 years, we will have this problem,” she said.
Illi Nadiah said the government needs to be prepared for the possibility of mass migration, as has happened in Pacific nations escaping rising sea levels.
However, Klang MP Charles said the authorities must also take immediate steps to upgrade drainage and irrigation systems to deal with the increase in rainfall and consider issuing government bonds, where necessary, to fund climate change and flood mitigation projects.
“We need to be forceful. Otherwise, the problem will continue to come chasing after you, even if you leave (Klang) and move to Shah Alam,” he said.
Engineering solutions
Civil engineer assoc prof Lee Wei Koon of Universiti Teknologi Mara said one solution that the government can consider in an effort to stop coastal areas from sinking is to build tidal barrages, which could shield vulnerable areas from being inundated during high tide and also manage river levels.
The catch – it will be an ambitious, and very costly project.
Lee said Malaysia could also consider an underground tunnel system, which will act as a water reservoir, similar to the underground stormwater storage scheme used by Japan.
“Regardless, this is something very new to us, and whether or not it is suitable for Klang, for example, will depend on the geology. The pressure overload on the structure itself is something that needs to be considered and studied,” he said.
“But basically, in terms of conveyance and storage of water, we are trapped here in Klang with very limited solutions.” – The Vibes, April 3, 2022
