KUALA LUMPUR: Over half of the web cameras installed to help with live flood monitoring of river banks in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang are not functioning.
According to the 2022 Auditor General's Report, the usage of the Video Management System (VMS) for 28 web cameras was deemed unsatisfactory.
Sixteen cameras are not displayed on the Public Info Banjir (PIB) portal, and seven cameras are offline, hindering monitoring and impeding the updating process for potential flood-prone areas.
The report highlighted that up to December last year, 28 web cameras were installed to monitor the river banks in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang and registered in the Integrated Forecast Operation System (IFOS).
"However, an audit in June this year through PIB revealed that only 12 web cameras were displayed on the portal.
"A further audit discovered that seven out of the 12 cameras displayed on PIB were offline from Feb 6 to May 20, this year.
"The audit review found no evidence of monitoring or documentation of camera damage reports," the report said.
The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) in several responses to the AG said starting March 1, the National Flood Forecast and Warning Programme (PRAB) included CCTV monitoring within the scope of the IFOS contract, under Contract Number L230000000000587, effective until Feb 28, 2025.
The report said the VMS software is used to manage video streams for the Centralised Forecast Operation Platform (CFOP), public portal and mobile applications.
"CFOP displays real-time video streams, while the public portal and mobile apps use static images that change based on requests and updates.
"The PIB portal has two access levels, which are the public view and registered user view, which function to display images and videos from cameras installed at hydrological stations," it said.
Auditor General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi earlier revealed that the Phase 1 of PRAB for three river basins in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang was unsatisfactory.
She said despite the government spending RM145 million for Phase 1 of the programme between 2015 and 2022, the flood forecasting accuracy rate was only 5.6 per cent.
The programme is unable to issue warnings and announcements two days in advance.