Monday February 4, 2013

PWD: Rain monitoring systems can help to cut cost

PETALING JAYA: Existing rainfall-monitoring systems to warn against floods can complement the Landslide Warning System (LWS) to minimise cost, says Public Works Department's slope engineering division director Dr Che Hassandi Abdullah.

He said data from the Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Meteorological Department's (MET) automated meteorological weather stations could be used for the LWS.

He said the department's report on the National Slope Master Plan showed that there were 50 automated meteorological weather stations in the peninsula but none in Sabah and Sarawak.

“The department would have to set up its own automated stations in the landslide-prone areas in these two states,” added Dr Hassandi.

He noted that most of the MET's automated stations were located on flat ground and instead of hilly terrain where they would be most useful for landslide warning systems.

He said the system was being developed mainly for the Ampang-Ulu Klang area a major landslide-prone zone due to its hilly terrain and intense rainfall pattern.

Dr Hassandi said the Public Works Department had divided the country into six major regions, based on geological structure and weather patterns, to enable easier monitoring and management of the early landslide warning system.

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