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From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/alor-setar-kedah-my/sungai-kedah-level
The Sungai Kedah's level at the highway bridge in Alor Setar, read live from JPS's national flood network, against the four alert levels JPS publishes for that exact gauge. Alor Setar floods on rain that fell upstream in Sik, Baling and Pendang — often on a day that is dry here — so the river is a better thing to watch than the sky.
Right now
The Sungai Kedah is at 1.42 m
Against the published thresholds, that sits in: Normal.
Measured 12 Oct, 7:00 pm. Next threshold: 1.50 m (Waspada (alert)).
The gauge is on the Sungai Kedah at the highway bridge in Kota Setar, inside the city. It measures the river, not the drains — a flash flood from local rain can put water in a street while the river is still well below its alert level.
Who decides the flood degree
The flood degree actually in force is declared by NADMA and the Kedah state disaster management committee. A gauge reading passing a published threshold does not by itself mean that degree has been declared — it’s the trigger the authority weighs, not the decision. For the official current degree:
When the river rises fast, minutes matter. The surest thing you can do today is make sure the town can reach you — sign up for the alerts and keep the numbers to hand.
999
Emergency — police, fire and rescue, ambulance. Use this if anyone is in danger.
The river is below its alert level. JPS puts Normal for this gauge at 1.30 m.
Nothing to do. Worth knowing where this page is if heavy rain is falling upstream in Sik, Baling or Pendang.
Waspada (alert)
from 1.50 m
JPS: the river has begun to rise above its normal level.
Start paying attention, especially if you are in Langgar, Anak Bukit or Titi Gajah.
Check whether rain is still falling upstream — the level here follows the upstream catchment by hours.
Move anything valuable off the floor if you have flooded before.
Amaran (warning)
from 1.80 m
JPS: the river is approaching flood level. Be ready to move if you need to.
Get ready to leave: documents, medicines, phone charger, a change of clothes in one bag.
Move vehicles to higher ground while the roads are still open.
Listen for the district office and APM — relief centres open before the water arrives, not after. SK Taman Aman is the one that has opened before.
Call APM on 991 if you will need help moving someone who cannot walk.
Bahaya (danger)
from 2.10 m
JPS: the river is starting to overflow and may cause flooding. Move if you are told to.
Where the water reaches
The parts of town that have flooded before — worth knowing which one is yours. This is where water has reached, not a street-by-street prediction.
Mukim Langgar — Named by NADMA as one of three Kota Setar mukims at risk when the Sungai Kedah rises.
Mukim Anak Bukit — Named by NADMA as one of three Kota Setar mukims at risk.
Mukim Titi Gajah — Named by NADMA as one of three Kota Setar mukims at risk.
Kampung Inggeris, Alor Gunung, Alor Madi, Alor Senjaya — Villages that recur in flood reporting for Kota Setar.
Seberang Chegar, Pantai Johor, Alor Perang, Bohor — Also named in past episodes.
Worth knowing
The rain that floods Alor Setar usually falls somewhere else
The city sits low on the Kedah rice plain, and the Sungai Kedah drains a catchment reaching back into Sik, Baling, Pendang and Padang Terap. Heavy rain in those districts arrives here hours later, which is why a clear sky over Alor Setar is not the reassurance it looks like — and why this page watches the river rather than the forecast.
What the four levels are
JPS sets Normal, Waspada, Amaran and Bahaya for each gauge separately, because a river that floods at 2 m in one town floods at 20 m in another. The numbers on this page are the ones JPS publishes for this gauge and nowhere else.
The gauge measures the river, not your street
Alor Setar also floods from rain landing on the city itself, faster than the river responds. If water is rising in your road while this page says Normal, both things can be true — report it to MBAS or call 999 if it is dangerous.
Who declares the degree
NADMA and the Kedah state disaster management committee
JPS measures the river and publishes the alert levels; the decision to open relief centres and move people is made by the state disaster committee with APM and the district office.
Checked 12 Oct, 7:51 pm. Live level and published alert thresholds from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (JPS), Public InfoBanjir. Automatic telemetry, unchecked at publication.
Go when you are asked to go. Do not wait to see how high it gets.
Do not drive or walk through moving water — you cannot see what the road underneath is doing.
999 for an emergency; 991 for APM.
Switch off electricity at the box before you leave, if it is safe to reach.