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THE government is advancing efforts to strengthen national disaster preparedness with a RM242 million allocation to upgrade Early Warning Systems (EWS), ensuring swift and precise dissemination of alerts for weather-related hazards, earthquakes, and tsunamis, including to communities in rural areas.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup confirmed that the funding encompasses projects to improve forecasting systems and the construction of additional weather radars.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRES), through the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia), continually reinforces the effectiveness of Early Warning Systems for disasters related to weather, earthquakes and tsunamis,” he said during a parliamentary session on Monday.
He noted that the government has also allocated RM18 million under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) for the development of the National Tsunami Early Warning System (SAATNM).
The announcement came in response to a question by Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias regarding the effectiveness of EWS in delivering rapid alerts, particularly to remote communities.
Arthur added that MET Malaysia is enhancing its forecasting capabilities through the Radar Integrated Nowcasting System (RaINS), which integrates a network of radars with numerical forecast models to produce near real-time projections of rainfall intensity and movement.
“At the same time, the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system has been upgraded with the latest High Performance Computing (HPC) technology, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and big data analytics,” he said.
“These enhancements allow weather forecasts up to 14 days ahead at a higher resolution of 300 metres, compared with one kilometre previously. This enables the early identification of weather patterns in high-risk areas with greater precision, including in rural regions.”
To ensure rapid and accurate alert dissemination, particularly to rural and high-risk communities, MET Malaysia has strengthened multiple communication channels, including SMS, the myCuaca mobile application, the MET Malaysia website, social media, radio, and television broadcasts.
Arthur highlighted ongoing collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), local authorities, and District Disaster Management Committees.
“In line with our continuous commitment to national disaster preparedness, starting in 2026, MET Malaysia aims to reduce the lead time for earthquake and tsunami alerts from eight minutes to six minutes after detection, while improving forecast accuracy from 82 per cent to 85 per cent,” he said.
He added that MET Malaysia operates EWS on a continuous 24-hour basis, providing timely alerts and coordinating closely with disaster management agencies at both the national and state levels.
“All these initiatives demonstrate that MET Malaysia is not only strengthening its network for detecting and forecasting weather, earthquake, and tsunami hazards but also enhancing the effectiveness of Early Warning Systems in delivering fast, accurate, and comprehensive alerts to all Malaysians,” Arthur added - January 26, 2026
