Disaster Profile - Malaysia

Tragic Disasters in Malaysia   Tragic Date Place Death / Injured Collapse of  Penang Ferry Terminal bridge - Jeti Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim The collapse of Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal at Butterworth , Pulau Pinang on July 31st. 1988, which caused 32 deaths and 1674 injured. 31.07.1988 (Sunday) Butterworth, Pulau Pinang 32 / < 1674 References Rozlan Ishak, Alias Aziz, Norlen Mohamed (2004). DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE STATE OF PENANG (PDF file). Retreived Feb. 17, 2005. The Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal bridge collapse occurred on July 31,1988 at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal on Butterwoth, Penang, Malaysia. The collapse caused the deaths of 32 people and injured 1,674 people. It was blamed on overcrowding and the jetty being made out of steel bars that led to the collapse.   Sungai Buloh fireworks factory explosion An explosion and fire that ruined a fireworks factory belonging to Bright Sparkles Sdn. Bhd. at Sungai Buloh, Selangor on May 7th.1991 causing 22 deaths and 103 injured.   07.05.1991 (Tuesday) Sungai Buluh, Selangor 22 / < 103   Choon Hong III Explosion Fire and explosion which razed the oil tanker Choon Hong III at Kelang Port on June 20th. 1992 causing 10 deaths. The fire had the potential of spreading to the adjacent Shell Company oil depot. 20.06.1992 (Saturday) Port Kelang, Selangor 10 / --   More than 1,000 people, mostly port workers and their families, were evacuated from the area after the blast on the tanker at around 9 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Saturday sparked a series of explosions and a huge blaze at the depot....full news     Collapse of Highland Towers The collapse of Highland Towers Condominium in Hulu Kelang, Selangor on December 11th. 1993, where 48 people were killed. 11.12.1993 (Tuesday) Hulu Kelang, Selangor 48 / --   References Navaratnam, Rajendra (2002). Implications of the Highland Towers Judgment in Relation to the Duties of Building Professionals in Malaysia. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2006. Lawyerment.com.my (????) The Highland Towers Judgment - Civil Suit No. S5-21-174-1996. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2005.   The Highland Towers collapse was an apartment collapse that occurred on December 11, 199. in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The collapse of one block caused the deaths of 48 people and led to the complete evacuation of the other two blocks due to safety concerns. The Highland Towers were three blocks of twelve-story apartments, each block was respectively named Block 1, Block 2 and Block 3. Block 1 collapsed when 10 continous days of rainfall led to a landslide after the retaining wall at the Tower's carpark failed.     Karak Highway landslide A landslide at Km 34 feeder road to Genting Highlands, Pahang on June 30th. 1995, where 20 people were killed and 22 sustained injuries. 30.06.1995 (Friday) KM 34 Jalan Susur Genting Highland 22 / < 22   20 tourists were killed and 22 injured when a massive landslide during heavy rains buried vehicles travelling on a different road leading to the resort. The 5.30pm landslide, said to be the worst in the country's history, was caused by heavy rain since 3pm which caused tons of earth to slip. Scores of rescue workers managed to dig their way in against uprooted trees and boulders and reach out to the trapped survivors. The bodies of several victims were found washed down a ravine about 100m below what used to be the main road to Genting Highlands. It is believed the victims dashed out of their cars but were buried as they ran.     Karak Highway accident A tourist bus plunged into a gorge of 120 meters deep at Km 1.5 Genting Highlands Road , Pahang on July 15th. 1996 , where 17 people were killed.   15.07.1996 (Monday) KM 1.5 Jalan Genting Highland 17 / --   Pos Dipang Mudslide A sudden flood of mud ravaged an Aborigine Settlement village at Dipang Post, Kampong Sahom, Mukim Kampar , Perak on August 29th. 1996 and claimed 44 lives and destroying 30 houses. 29.08.1996 (Thursday) Kampar, Perak 44 / -- The aborigine settlement of Pos Dipang near the town of Kampar in northern Perak state lies devastated after a mudslide set off by heavy rain and floods   Typhoon, floods hit west coast of Sabah The tropical storm Greg hit the west coast of Sabah on December 26th. 1996, killing more than 230 people and destroyed more than 4925 houses. 26.12.1996 (Thursday) Sabah 230 / -- While Christmas bells were still ringing, Tropical Storm Greg tore into the state of Sabah, Malaysia, at 2 a.m. on December 26, 1996. It was the worst natural disaster in the last twenty years. It caused flooding in Keningau, about 100 km [62 miles] from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah. It was estimated that 500 houses were destroyed, 200 people were swept away by floods, and thousands of people were made homeless.     Country Profile for Natural Disasters   The information on natural disasters presented here is taken from EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database. In order for a disaster to be entered into the database at least one of the following criteria has to be fulfilled: 10 or more people reported killed 100 people reported affected a call for international assistance declaration of a state of emergency Data on natural disasters is presented in three forms: Top 10 Summarized table Summarized table Top 10 Natural Disasters in Malaysia sorted by numbers of people killed and affected Disaster Date Killed Wind Storm 26-Dec-1996 270 Epidemic 1991 263 Epidemic Sep-1998 105 Slides 11-Dec-1993 72 Flood 26-Dec-1970 61 Flood Jan-1967 50 Slides 30-Aug-1996 50 Flood 26-Dec-1993 30 Flood 12-Nov-1988 27 Wind Storm 7-Jan-1968 21   Disaster Date Affected Flood 3-Dec-1965 300,000 Flood 26-Dec-1970 243,000 Flood Jan-1967 140,000 Flood 12-Nov-1988 60,000 Flood 28-Nov-1986 25,000 Flood 26-Dec-1993 25,000 Flood Dec-1983 15,000 Flood 3-Oct-2003 13,800 Wind Storm 7-Jan-1968 10,000 Flood 19-Aug-2001 10,000   Created on: May-5-2004. - Data version: v04.04 Source:"EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, www.em-dat.net - Université catholique de Louvain - Brussels - Belgium" For some natural disasters (particularly floods and droughts) there is no exact day or month for the event, and for other disasters (particularly pre-1974) the available record of the disaster does not provide an exact day or month.       Summarized Table of Natural Disasters in Malaysia from 1965 to 2004   # of Events Killed Injured Homeless Affected Total Affected DamageUS (000's) Drought 1 0 0 0 5,000 5,000 0 ave. per event   0 0 0 5,000 5,000 0                 Epidemic 9 393 0 0 5,989 5,989 0 ave. per event   44 0 0 665 665 0                 Flood 22 226 0 20,000 860,120 880,120 78,705 ave. per event   10 0 909 39,096 40,006 3,578                 Slides 4 152 35 250 0 285 0 ave. per event   38 9 63 0 71 0                 Wild Fires 1 0 0 3,000 0 3,000 0 ave. per event   0 0 3,000 0 3,000 0                 Wind Storm 4 293 0 3,000 11,805 14,805 0 ave. per event   73 0 750 2,951 3,701 0                 Created on: May-5-2004. - Data version: v04.04 Source:"EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, www.em-dat.net - Université catholique de Louvain - Brussels - Belgium"   *Events recorded in the CRED EM-DAT. First Event: Dec/1965, Last Entry: Mar/2004. *Epidemics inluded: Diarrhoeal/Enteric(Cholera), Diarrhoeal/Enteric(Typhoid), Arbovirus(Dengue fever), Meningitis(Coxsackievirus), Arbovirus(Encephalitis), Unknown, Unknown(Hand foot and mouth disease), Respiratory(Acute respiratory syndrome (SARS))