KUALA LUMPUR: A local community based organisation on landslides and slope safety, SlopeWatch embarked on a journey to educate hillside citizens on signs of slope failures to better equip them in an event of disaster such as landslide.
Kicking off as a pilot project for residents of Bukit Antarabangsa in Ulu Klang, Selangor, the non-governmental organisation held a briefing and workshop “Community mapping and early warning for landslides using crowdsourcing” for about 60 people yesterday.
Its programme director Eriko Motoyama said the knowledge-sharing session was a preparatory step towards enabling residents to detect and mark signs of slop failures on a large-scale community map.
This, she said, would allow communities to know about the hazards that exist in their vicinity and unite residents in sharing problem-solving and mitigation measures at the community level.
“Community mapping is used to familiarise and understand your natural and manmade surroundings to reduce the chances of slope failures.
“With this, you can share information on dangerous spots on or near slopes with other residents, and conduct activities for mitigating landslides.
“When the Public Works Departments did a forensic report on the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, they learnt that signs of a landslide appeared months ahead. Just that people didn’t see it as a possible sign.
“Hence, with this community mapping and mobile map, residents will be informed of any happenings that will allow us to carry out mitigation measures.”
The community mapping exercise is the first step in the programme before the release of a mobile app, “SlopeMap” in March that enables residents to report signs of landslides, such as water ponding, uprooted trees, and erosions, on their smartphones.
In explaining the mobile app, Eriko said a rain gauge that had been set up in Bukit Antarabangsa specifically for this project would send rain level notifications as soon as it starts raining.
Upon notification, digital volunteers can start reporting signs that they see either from their homes or while on the road.
SlopeWatch was established in April 2009 following the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide that killed five people and houses of 14 families were destroyed. The tragedy occurred about 1.5 kilometers away from the Highland Towers landslide site which happened on Dec 11, 1993.