Tag Archives: landslides

A Roadmap for Disaster Resilience in Malaysia

From infrastructure to community involvement and good governance, resilience in the face of disasters must be built, writes disaster management professional Dr Sheikh Kamran Abid.

THIS November-to-December monsoon has been vicious, racking up the largest victim displacement – at least 120,000 – since the large big flood of 2014.

But Malaysia is no stranger to natural disasters. The country faces various environmental risks, from devastating floods to landslides and droughts. In recent years, the impacts of climate change have intensified these natural hazards, making it more urgent than ever to build disaster resilience.

(Feature image: As landslides and other natural disasters increase due to the climate crisis, resilience at every level needs to be built. | Screenshot from JKR Daerah Kinta Facebook )

Continue reading

What It Takes to Manage Landslides

Floods might hog the current natural disaster news in Malaysia, but landslides are occurring too. Does Malaysia have what it takes to handle landslides?

CARRYING her one-month-old baby, Pricila Gracelyn rushed out from her hillside house in Penampang, Sabah in terror and pain as a big falling tree and cascading mud almost split her home into two.

“I was just about to lay my baby down on the bed when I suddenly heard a loud sound coming from above us. I thought it was thunder,” remembers Gracelyn.

“Maybe it’s my instincts, I carried my baby and escaped from the room, and in a blink [of an eye], our house was destroyed by the landslide.”

(Composite photo: Soil and trees destroyed Gracelyn’s house in Penampang, Sabah in September | Pics by Pricila Gracelyn)

(more...)

How to Fit a 15-storey Hotel in Fraser’s Hill

Planners are drafting a new plan for Fraser’s Hill, an environmentally sensitive area. How should development proceed there?

FRASER’S Hill will get a new development concept plan soon. The Raub District Council, which oversees development in Fraser’s Hill, Pahang, has appointed town planner Iktisas Planners to come up with the plan. 

The consultant told Macaranga they aim to finish the concept plan in November, and declined to comment more.

The new concept plan adds a new dimension to recent events that have focused discussion on how Fraser’s Hill, an environmentally sensitive area, should be developed.

In particular, some residents and concerned citizens are opposing the building of a hotel there which has been approved by the Council.

(Photo: The iconic clock tower greets visitors to Fraser’s Hill, a destination popular for its cool weather, nature and colonial-style buildings. Pic by : Pashmina Binwani)

Continue reading How to Fit a 15-storey Hotel in Fraser’s Hill