EXPLORE POSSIBLE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON SURFACE FLOODING IN KELANTAN

Floods are a common occurrence in Kelantan, one of the states in Malaysia that located on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. However, in recent times, due to the large scale of climate change, geographical characteristics and unplanned urbanisation, Kelantan has become extremely vulnerable to flood year by year. This study is focused on exploring the relationship between climate change and flooding in Kelantan River, Lebir River and Galas River. Besides, it also to determine which period of months has the highest frequency of peak rainfall volume, water level and stream flow. Furthermore, a high accuracy and performance forecasting tool that can be used to forecast the future hydrological data also need to be determined. This research is very crucial that it can allow the respective department to carry out comprehensive planning and early preparation before flooding occurs. A series of data of the study area were collected and analysed. It is observed that the rainfall volume, water level and stream flow are interrelated. When rainfall volume increases, the water level and stream flow will also increase and vice versa. Next, it is found out that November to January has the highest frequency of peak hydrological data due to the North East Monsoon season. Artificial Neural Network or also known as ANN was used to predict the future hydrological data and the results were compared with the actual data. It is observed that the ANN can perform very well in forecasting the future hydrological data with high accuracy and performance.