doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2021.12.9.1350
Community Preparedness towards Dam Disaster: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program in Cameron Highlands
Abstract—Dam disaster occurrences are an unexpected event
that occurs suddenly without warning. It has become very
alarming, resulting in a catastrophic break followed by a flood
wave at high speed with considerable loss of life and
catastrophic damages to infrastructure and the environment.
Given these circumstances, the community preparedness for
disaster risk reduction (DRR) is important to strengthen
disaster response strategies. It helps the community to
understand the situations to face disaster and interact with
present conditions with efficient manners. The research aims to
investigate the community awareness and preparedness and the
effectiveness of the DRR program toward dam-related disaster.
In this research, two dams in Cameron Highland have been
selected as sites study: Sultan Abu Bakar (SAB) Hydroelectric
Scheme and its vicinity in Lembah Bertam; and Susu Dam and
its vicinity in Pos Telanok. The research utilised questionnaire
surveys as a data collection method, where Statistical Package
Software SPSS Version 25 was used to analyse data. The finding
indicates that an integrated community-based program is an
effective approach to increase people's preparedness for the
disaster. The result can assist local agencies and dam owners in
formulating strategies for future DRR programs. Identifying
these pertinent factors enables a greater understanding of the
community's preparedness for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in
both dams of Cameron Highlands.
Index Terms—Community preparedness, disaster risk
reduction, dam failure, Dam disaster.
Rahsidi Sabri Muda and Fatin Shahira Abdullah are with TNB Research,
Malaysia (e-mail: rashidism@gmail.com, ffaezynn@yahoo.com).
Mohd Ramzi Mohd Hussain is with International Islamic University
Malaysia (IIUM), Malaysia (e-mail: ramzi@iium.edu.my,
izawati@iium.edu.my).
Izawati Tukiman is with International Islamic University Malaysia
(IIUM), Malaysia (e-mail: izawati@iium.edu.my).
Cite: Rahsidi Sabri Muda, Mohd Ramzi Mohd Hussain, Izawati Tukiman, and Fatin Shahira Abdullah, "Community Preparedness towards Dam Disaster: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program in Cameron Highlands," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 267-273, 2021.
Copyright © 2021 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).