Netherlands to help Malaysia fight floods

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and scientific advisers have met with Dutch water experts to discuss how Dutch expertise can help Malaysian experts to prevent floods and flash floods in Malaysia.

Netherlands also offer expertise ranging from designing and building great structures to creating reliable flood early warning systems and flood risk maps.

According to the Dutch Ambassador Harry Molenaar, they will now identify the most urgent areas, with the hope of developing a strategic approach to mitigating flood risks.

“Over the last few weeks, Malaysia has experienced an increase in the number of landslides, flash floods and people having to be evacuated due to the extreme weather conditions brought about by the monsoon season.

“We are sharing our flood mitigation expertise with Malaysia and will see how we can work together on smart infrastructure and drainage in order to prevent floods in the future,” said Ambassador Molenaar.

The Netherlands position as a low-lying delta with three major rivers makes it both the maritime and water management hub of Europe, while its expertise in flood prevention, water quality and water and land use management is in demand worldwide.

The use of Dutch expertise to manage flood situations has been used includes the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in the United States, the Southern England floods of 2012, and in this region in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Singapore.