The Impact of Flood Between 2006 – 2022 on Locals Businesses in Malaysia - A Short Review

Abstract

The review paper investigates the impact of the flood disaster experienced by small businesses, particularly the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The focus was on the tangible impact of the flood disaster, such as buildings, stocks, crops or infrastructure. This is to understand how flood characteristics such as flood water depth, flood location and flood duration affect the SMEs. Review work was carried out using secondary sources obtained through online search engines, namely Google Scholar and Science Direct. The findings showed that studies on the direct impact of flooding on SMEs in Malaysia are scarce and limited to the loss of sales or production, worker issues and damages to premises and stock. In addition, the costs raised were generally for the benefit of the technical agencies involved in damage repairs to public infrastructures. Information on how the physical flood characteristics, such as location of the affected area, inundation period and depth, associated with the size and infrastructure of the premises was lacking. The raw data on flood characteristics could possibly be inserted in flood modeling, but the data could be important for the technical agencies and those working on a strategic framework on the ground. It is also important for the awareness and preparedness strategy. Thus, study on how these raw data relate to the SMEs’ flood damage is urgently required. Further study is suggested to identify the significant level of damage in relation to location, size and infrastructure with the flood characteristics to improve the risk management and strategic framework for SMEs affected by the disaster.