Optimisation of Flooding Recovery for Malaysian Universities

Malaysia's 11th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) emphasises the need for strengthening of disaster risk management strategies. This is in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), which calls for substantial global reductions in the occurrence of disasters by 2030. Flooding in Malaysia normally occurs after heavy rains, especially during the monsoon seasons. The resulting floods are increasing in severity because of climate change, to the point where serious flooding is occurring almost every year. The effects of flooding are extensive and widespread all over the country, with consequential loss of life and property. The infrastructure of the Malaysian university sector is not immune from these effects. Recovery to an operational state may be highly problematic, especially if research and teaching infrastructure is damaged. The recovery process may be complex and would be aided by the implementation of strategies leading to improved resilience to flooding, as both processes require co-ordination among many stakeholders. At present, there is an almost total lack of information on flooding recovery strategies improvement in the context of the Malaysian university sector, and this is a matter of some concern. This paper describes potential improvements to apply to Malaysian universities' current measures for handling the aftermath of flooding. The objective of the paper is to review relevant literatures related to flooding recovery planning in Malaysian universities. The main methodologies used in this study include a literature review and interviews with stakeholders.