The full moon phenomenon which occurs when the moon is closest to the earth, causes high tide, which is among factors that triggered extraordinary flooding in the east coast this year.

Meteorological Department National Weather Centre senior meteorological officer Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the flood situations worsened with the presence of northeast monsoon winds blowing consistently across the South China Sea to Malaysia starting November until March.

“Although rainfall is no longer heavy, flood waters do not seem to recede due to the full moon phenomenon as it causes higher tides than normal.

“Besides that, previously incessant rainfall caused water from the upstream to not reach the confluence and resulted in overflowing rivers,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

He said they predict the heavy rainfall since last week due to north-east monsoon winds in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang will continue until early January.

“However, the weather is expected to be more favourable yesterday until today with many of our forecasts showing showers in only one or two areas in the affected states,” he said.

Dr Mohd Hisham explained that the northeast monsoon wind brought about heavy rainfall in three episodes, namely the first episode which ended in November, the second episode between Dec 16 and 19 followed by the third episode which started on Monday and will last until today.

“Although the weather is expected to be good on these two days, we predict a fourth episode to start from Dec 28 to 30 and it may continue until early January,” he said.

Dr Mohd Hisham said they do not dismiss the possibility that floods may hit low-lying areas near the river after Dec 28.

“During the north-east monsoon season, the east coast is expected to experience four to five episodes of heavy rainfall for between three to seven days in November until January 2015, as well as western Sarawak and Sabah from January until March 2015.

“Therefore, people living by the river and in low-lying areas are advised to prepare for any possibility, including floods,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said in a statement yesterday that strong north-east winds with speeds of 60 kilometres per hour in the coastal areas of the east coast, Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan is expected to last until today.    

In addition, rough seas and waves of up to 5.5 metres will pose a danger to beach and shipping activities, including to workers on oil platforms.

The statement added that the coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor are vulnerable to a rise in sea levels until today.

- Bernama

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