For flood conditions in Malaysia, use three different official checks: MET Malaysia for rain and weather warnings, JPS Public InfoBanjir for river-gauge readings, and JKM InfoBencana for temporary evacuation centres reported as open. NADMA's disaster portal provides another view of affected areas and links to the agencies. None of these screens, by itself, guarantees that your street is safe, a road is passable or a particular centre can receive you.
A Pusat Pemindahan Sementara (PPS) is a temporary evacuation centre activated during a disaster. You can view the public JKM dashboard without registering. It displays an open-PPS count, affected state/district information, a last-update time and, when records are present, centre names and opening information. The dashboard can be delayed or empty; a listed centre is not a reservation, guaranteed vacancy or instruction to travel there. Follow evacuation directions from local authorities immediately, even when an online page has not caught up.
First, match the warning to your actual district
Open MET Malaysia on your phone. Use its weather-warning information and the State and District forecast views; the myCuaca information page explains the agency's mobile app. Check the area covered, type of warning, issue time and validity period. A warning for another district, or one that has expired, is not a current warning for your location.
MET distinguishes thunderstorm and continuous-rain warnings. A rain warning describes expected or ongoing weather conditions. It does not tell you the depth of water at your door. A severe warning deserves attention even if you cannot find a river gauge close to you; flash flooding can also occur away from the gauge you happen to be viewing.
Save your state, district and locality before moving to another portal. For example, “Selangor, Klang district” is more useful than “near Kuala Lumpur”. Do not substitute the nearest large city's forecast for your actual district.
Then read one relevant river station—not just the colour
Go to JPS Public InfoBanjir's water-level index. Tap your state, then use the district (Daerah) and station (Stesen) selectors on the state page. The table identifies named stations, their districts and river basins, the last measurement time, a level in metres, and station-specific threshold columns.
The four JPS labels are Normal, Waspada (alert), Amaran (warning) and Bahaya (danger). They refer to that station's thresholds, not a nationwide water depth. A reading of a few metres cannot be interpreted without its station and reference levels; the “Normal” label cannot certify a house, bridge or road as flood-free. Check whether the station is on the watercourse relevant to your locality, not merely geographically close on a map.
The timestamp is as important as the category. At different times, the JPS state index has included states with observations much older than neighbouring states. If an entry is dated yesterday or months earlier, is blank, or contains an obvious invalid value, treat its current condition as unknown. Do not turn an absent or stale reading into a reassuring green light. A gauge also cannot predict exactly when floodwater will arrive at a specific home.
Example: a warning but no useful nearby gauge
Imagine a family in Klang, Selangor receives a MET rain warning for its district. On the Selangor JPS station page, the family filters to Klang and looks for a gauge on the river or drainage basin affecting their neighbourhood. If no relevant station reports fresh data, the conclusion is “river conditions near us have not been verified”, not “flood risk is low”. They keep monitoring official warnings and follow any local evacuation instruction. This is an illustration of the workflow, not a claim about a current warning or reading in Klang.
Find centres reported as open on JKM InfoBencana
For a centre lookup, open the public JKM InfoBencana dashboard in a mobile browser. Malaysia's government service directory independently identifies this as an official active-PPS information service.
- On the JKM screen, choose Banjir (flood) if the disaster filter is available, rather than mixing flood records with fire or storm records. Use the state (Negeri) links to reach the relevant state.
- Look for PPS Buka (centres reported open), Daerah (districts) and Dikemaskini pada (last updated). A state-wide total is not a list of places available in your district.
- In Gambaran Keseluruhan (overview), look for the public table. When records exist it can show Nama (centre name), Daerah (district), Mukim (subdistrict), Buka (opening date) and occupancy-related figures. Use Cari (search) to narrow visible rows by your district or centre name when that field is present. On a narrow screen, you may need to scroll to see the table.
- Check that the disaster type, state, district, named centre and last-update time agree. The “Buka” date and a displayed capacity percentage do not prove that a centre has a free place right now. An entry in a general centre inventory is not the same as an activated PPS.
- Confirm with the district disaster-management team, JKM/APM staff or officials directing the evacuation which PPS to use and how to get there. Do this before travelling if conditions allow; never delay a direct evacuation order merely to refresh a page.
Important freshness limit: On 5 November 2026, a public JKM state view could still display a 16 October 2026 update even though it loaded successfully on a phone. This demonstrates why the visible timestamp must be checked every time. The example is not a claim that any centre named on that view remains open today. The public table may omit usable addresses or route instructions; do not guess them from a centre name.
Use NADMA to cross-check the incident, not to guess a destination
NADMA's disaster portal links to MET, JPS, the JKM centre service and road-closure information. Its disaster map can show affected states and districts and summary PPS figures where the underlying data is available.
If JKM and NADMA totals differ, check their timestamps, disaster categories and geographic coverage. A map's count may come from a different reporting feed. It does not resolve a centre's individual status, address, accessibility, capacity or the safety of the journey. Follow the latest direct instructions from the appropriate district authority.
Example: a centre appears in a list, but the route is uncertain
Suppose you see a centre name and an earlier opening date in JKM, while a local warning or road closure concerns the route you intended to use. Do not navigate to it solely because it appears in the table. Treat its current accessibility as unconfirmed, check the relevant authority's evacuation instructions and use the destination and route they direct. A public “open” label is not a safety clearance for crossing floodwater. This example is hypothetical; it is not a live-centre recommendation.
If an official website fails or shows no results
A blank JKM table, Tiada Data (no data), zero on an undated page, a missing JPS station reading or an unreachable portal is not proof that no flood or evacuation exists. Take these steps instead:
- Try the original official link again when connectivity allows, and compare it with NADMA's situation page, the MET warning and the JPS observation appropriate to your location. Keep each source's date, geography and purpose separate.
- Seek current, direct directions from local district disaster authorities, JKM or the Civil Defence Force (APM), especially for centre assignment, transport or assisted evacuation. Ask for accessibility and essential medical support if your household needs them; online occupancy figures are no guarantee.
- If officials order you to leave, leave promptly by their instructed safe route. Do not drive or walk through floodwater, choose a shortcut from a map or wait for a website to update. If you are in immediate danger, seek emergency assistance through local emergency services.
You can prepare a three-day home supply and a portable evacuation bag, but that is a different task: supplies are for a safe home or the journey; this guide helps you interpret warnings, river observations and evacuation-centre information. Never stay in an unsafe building because supplies are ready or a dashboard looks quiet.
Source check: 5 November 2026. These are official lookup routes, not retained real-time warnings or a live PPS directory. Always read the source page's own latest update before acting.