Abstract
During the periods of strong winter monsoon, the occurrence of extensive floods in the low-lying areas mostly in the east coast part of the Peninsula Malaysia continually results in huge destruction to public and private utilities, damage to farmlands, and in addition, leads to loss of lives with outbreak of epidemic which prompted evacuations of hundreds of thousands from their homes and communities. This paper presents research results on the impacts of subsurface water on the east coast Peninsula Malaysian floods, therefore complementing the existing data on the flooding events in this area. In our finding, we present the vulnerability of the aquifer units in the flood-affected communities to floods during intense precipitations and then proffer suggestions to prevent near future occurrence. The partial coverage of the alteration zone that is completely nonexistent in this area should have provided the needed essential storage and transmissivity if present in the east coast Peninsula Malaysia environments. Most of the aquifer units in this part are unconfined and are opened to surface water. We applied electrical resistivity tomography methods of geophysical prospecting and borehole lithologic logs to study the subsurface structures prone to flooding in addition to the information on the rainfall data. However, the GOD vulnerability Index rating method was modified and improved upon with the additions of fluctuations of borehole water heights FBWH and the river bank heights RBH together with the topography parameters to produce the GOD-FBRT Index that better refine the method by considering the literal movement of fluids within the subsurface. The configuration of the Kelantan River basin land system as delineated by this study makes the entire east coast areas vulnerable to flooding with the degree of vulnerability as computed in the study area that ranged between 0.1 (very low) and 1.0 (very high).
Highlights
The east coast Peninsula Malaysian states received highintensity rainfall in the months of November to Editorial handling: Dikun YangJanuary during which the area recorded the maximum precipitations brought about by the monsoon rains
The summer monsoon which is commonly called Bsouthwest monsoon^ and the winter monsoon known as the Bnortheast monsoon,^ with the former, usually begin towards the end of May and end towards late September, while the later starts from the month of November through to the third month of the following year
Peninsula Malaysia experienced a significant amount of precipitation all year round with the maximum amount during the northeast monsoon period
Summary
The east coast Peninsula Malaysian states received highintensity rainfall in the months of November to Editorial handling: Dikun YangJanuary during which the area recorded the maximum precipitations brought about by the monsoon rains. Peninsula Malaysia experienced a significant amount of precipitation all year round with the maximum amount during the northeast monsoon period. Even with the peculiar nature of the Peninsula, the monsoon rainfall in this part of the South-eastern Asian country still experiences a major unpredictability of inter-annual time scale precipitations which relates the floods in this area to an anomalously intense monsoon seasons and drought (Tangang et al 2008; Tangang et al 2011). Arab J Geosci (2019) 12: 146 contrary winds, i.e., the southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon During these periods of intense winter monsoon, the occurrence of widespread floods in low-lying areas mostly in the east coast part of the country repeatedly results in huge destruction to public and private utilities. The good forecast of seasonal changes in climatic conditions with studies like this provides valuable information for decision-makers to manage better resources, establish mitigation plans, and enhance response strategies related to floods
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