SYNOPSIS

The existence of flood forecasting and warning systems is an acknowledgement to the reality that structural flood mitigation systems are not full-proof.  The element of uncertainty in performance of flood control structures is thus addressed by providing advance warnings to the community in the flood hazard area.  

In November 2017, the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Center came into operation. Situated at the Dept. of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (Ampang Branch), the center provides advanced warning of impending floods to the National Agency for Disaster Management.  Central to its operation are the flood forecasting numerical models that predict river water levels and flood inundation areas.  The National Flood Forecasting and Warning System (NAFFWAS) comprise hydrological and hydraulic models that are able to forecast potential floods 7 days in advance and release imminent flood advisory bulletins 2 days in advance.  The product of these models is the advisory bulletins that provide crucial lead time for rescue and recovery services to act.  To date, 5 major rivers have been modeled the latest three being that of the Sungai Kelantan, Sungai Terengganu and Sungai Pahang.  
This presentation captures the main elements and issues in the development of NAFFWS against a backdrop of the advances in technology that supports present day flood models.  


BIODATA

Dato’ Ir. Nor Hisham Bin Mohd Ghazali is the Director of Water Resources and Hydrology Division at the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID). He currently oversees the implementation of the National Water Balance Program and the National Flood Forecasting and Early-Warning Program - two primary water resource initiatives under the federal government’s Water Security agenda.

Dato’ Ir. Nor Hisham has served the DID for 30 years in various technical and managerial capacities. He began his career as a soil investigation engineer before moving on to coastal engineering and becoming a shoreline management specialist. In senior management, Dato’ Nor Hisham has served as Deputy Director of DID Selangor and the Director of DID Johor. From 2012 to 2015, he was director of the SMART Tunnel Storm water Management Control Center in Kuala Lumpur heading the flood early-warning and flow diversion operations.

Dato’ Ir. Nor Hisham holds a B. Sc. Civil Engineering from California State University (Chico) USA and a M. Eng. (Coastal and Maritime) from University Technology Malaysia.

He is a Professional Engineer registered with the Board of Engineers, Malaysia (BEM) and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia.  He is also Chairman of the Malaysian Water Partnership (MyWP) and a Vice-Chairman of the Malaysian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (MANCID).