Land use change and the distribution of extraordinary rainfall in the interiors of Kedah, Malaysia

Changes in land use may exert a negative impact on rainfall which may eventually lead to catastrophic flooding. This study examines the relationship between changes in land use with rainfall distribution in some interior districts of Kedah, namely, Kubang Pasu, Padang Terap, Pendang and Sik. Analysis of rainfall data was by using monthly bar graphs from year 1990 to 2013. The land use data were from year 1984 to 2012 and land use change analysis utilised the Patch Density and Size Metrics through the Test Mean and Mean Patch Size Perimeter to Area Ratio. The study found that changes in land use from year 1984 to 2012 were in line with exceptional and extreme rainfall events in some interior district of Kedah. Consequently, a huge flood hit several areas in Kedah such as Kubang Pasu and Kota Setar in 2005 and 2010 which according to some were the worst over the last 30 years. This means that policies related to land development should be strengthened so that natural disasters such as exceptional and extraordinary floods like this can be avoided in the future.