Drought analysis via the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is necessary for effective water resource management in Sarawak, Malaysia. Rainfall is the best indicator of a drought, but the temperature is also significant because it controls evaporation and condensation. This study examined drought periods in the state of Sarawak using the SPI and SPEI based on monthly precipitation and temperature data from thirty-three rainfall stations during a forty-year period (1981–2020). This analysis of drought conditions revealed that both the SPI and SPEI were able to detect drought temporal variations with distinct time scales (3, 6, 9, and 12 months). Taking precipitation and evapotranspiration data into account, the SPEI was able to identify more severe-to-extreme drought in the study area over longer time periods and moderate droughts over shorter time periods than the standard drought index. According to Pearson correlation coefficients, a substantial association existed between the SPI and SPEI during hydrological dryness. Based on the results, the temperature is a decisive factor in drought classification, and the SPI should only be used in the absence of temperature data.

Flood disasters, a natural hazard throughout human history, have caused significant damage to human safety and infrastructure. This paper presents a systematic study using databases from Springer Link, Science Direct, JSTOR, and Web of Science. The study employs the PRISMA report analysis method to examine 11 flood disaster case studies between 2010 and 2022. The findings reveal that demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare crucially determine social vulnerability to adverse flood events. Notably, risk perception and coping capacity also received substantial attention in the case studies. Unfortunately, many indicators of social vulnerability fail to adequately consider the influence of these factors. The effects of factors that make communities vulnerable vary across disaster stages and countries. This emphasizes the importance of considering specific situations and locations when understanding the origins and consequences of vulnerability. The article concludes by offering recommendations to customize quantitative indicators of social vulnerability to flood contexts, covering aspects such as temporal context, measurability, and indicator relationships.

The use of toxic and persistent pesticides in agriculture results in serious and lasting environmental impacts. Although traditional methods such as physical and chemical reclamation give the best results, treating these contaminants requires high cost and expertise. Therefore, this study focuses on bioremediation recovery, which is more efficient, economical, and safer to remove. In this case, the newly isolated potential of Pichia kluyveri FM012 in degrading 4-bromophenol was investigated. The selected strain was isolated from the tropical rainforest in Selangor, Malaysia. The impact of optimized parameters such as agitation, pH, nitrogen and carbon source were also studied. After extensive testing, the best optimal degradation was at pH 5 with 150 rpm stirrer speed. Glucose and yeast performed best compared to other carbon and nitrogen sources. The maximum biosorption capacity (q_m = 38.46 mg/g biomass) was predicted by the Langmuir model, but the Freundlich model adsorption gave a better value of R² = 0.999. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model fits the study of biosorption kinetics. The FTIR spectrum revealed the presence of asymmetric and symmetric vibration of the aromatic ring and was assigned C=C or C=O, and fungi showed biosorption ability in broad functional groups. These results provided interesting information about the ability of Pichia kluyveri FM012 and potential applications to remediate the resistant pesticide.