Monsoon transition phase: Public urged to pay attention to weather warnings

KUALA LUMPUR: The public is advised to take heed of warnings issued by the relevant authorities to be more prepared to face the monsoon transition phase from yesterday until mid-May.

Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said in contrast to the Northeast Monsoon which is associated with rainfall for a long period of time, the monsoon transition phase would cause thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds in a short period of time, namely about one to three hours.

"During the Northeast Monsoon, the rain episodes are prolonged and usually, we will issue the flood warnings two or three days earlier because we can observe the distribution of the rain.

"However, during the monsoon transition phase, downpour occurs in certain places so there will be risks of flash floods," he said during the Minister's Question Time session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi (PAS-Tumpat) who wanted to know the difference of rain and disaster impact during the Northeast Monsoon and the monsoon transition phase, as well as the government's measures in dealing with them.

Tuan Ibrahim said the ministry was working closely with various agencies including the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and the National Disaster Command Centre (NDCC) besides holding discussions with the police, Civil Defence Force and the Armed Forces in dealing with disasters in the country.

Apart from that, he said the ministry is also in talks with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to enable disaster warnings to be channelled immediately to the public.

"What is important is that we should be concerned with these warnings so that we are more prepared. Insya-Allah, through the cooperation of various quarters, we hope the impact of disasters can be minimised," he said.

-- BERNAMA