This innovative project aims to increase flood resilience across Malaysia. It will do this by establishing which areas of Peninsular Malaysia are particularly vulnerable to flooding, and estimating the potential damage and disruption that flood events cause to local communities.
Flooding, occurring during the monsoon season, is a significant natural risk in Malaysia, causing fatalities and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Using existing data on climate and land use, together with hydrological and flood risk research tools, scientists will estimate which areas are vulnerable to flooding and how flood water impacts people and livelihoods.
By combining this information with local interviews amongst communities affected by previous flood events, the project team will assess the risk and estimated impact of flooding across the country, and investigate how these may change in the future.
Economic analysis will be used to understand how potential changes in different sectors of the economy could affect exposure to flooding. Hydrological tools will be used to show where river levels may rise and cause flooding, and engineers will apply new analyses to demonstrate the impact of the flood waters.
The research outputs will be combined into a new multi-scale visualisation of flood risk in Peninsular Malaysia.
“This project aims to improve understanding of the current and future flood risk in Malaysia for long-term benefits of the society and the nation. Incorporating a multi-scale approach into the flood risk assessment will be greatly improved by the current positive collaborative efforts and the extent of the available information.”
Dr Balqis Mohamed Rehan, Principal Investigator (Malaysia), UPM
“Incorporating research into how communities are affected by flooding, including the timing of events, is a new approach to assessing flood risk and vulnerability. With its rapidly expanding economy and monsoon climate, Malaysia is an ideal place to develop such flood models. Flooding is an ongoing challenge for people in both the UK and Malaysia, and I look forward to working with our Malaysian colleagues to develop a next-generation approach to understanding flood risk and vulnerability.”
Dr Vicky Bell, Principal Investigator (UK), CEH
Our Research Team
Our interdisciplinary research team consists of environmental scientists, hydrologists, economists and engineers from Malaysian and UK partners: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), Sayers and Partners Limited, UK.
Our Funding Partners
The UK partners are supported by the Newton Fund via the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC). The Malaysia Ministry of Education is providing funding for the Malaysian partners.
Our Project Personnel
| Dr Vicky Bell | Principal Investigator, UK | UK CEH |
| Dr Balqis Mohamed Rehan | Principal Investigator, Malaysia | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
| Ms Lisa Stewart | Project Manager | UK CEH |
| Dr James Miller | UK CEH | |
| Dr Zed Diyana Zulkifli | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) | |
| Dr Badronnisa Yusuf | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) | |
| Dr Bakti Hasan Basri | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) | |
| Prof. Dato’ Dr. Ekhwan Toriman | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) | |
| Dr Ponnambalam Rameshwaran | UK CEH | |
| Ms Alexandra Kaelin | UK CEH | |
| Ms Helen Davies | UK CEH | |
| Paul Sayers | Sayers and Partners | |
| Shabir Ahmad Kabirzad | Postgraduate Student | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
| Tochukwu Okeke | Postgraduate Student | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
| Eva Fatdillah | Postgraduate Student | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM |
Principal Investigator (UK) - Dr Vicky Bell
Email:vib@ceh.ac.uk
Location: Wallingford, UK
Principal Investigator (Malaysia) - Dr Balqis Rehan
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Project Manager (UK) - Ms Lisa Stewart
Email: ejs@ceh.ac.uk
Location: Wallingford
PROJECT TIMELINE: January 2019 — December 2021
