Forecasting Kemaman River Water Level Using Hybrid ARIMA-STL Mode

Authors

  • Vikneswari Someetheram School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia
  • Muhammad Fadhil Marsani School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4808-0348
  • Muhammad Wafiy Adli School of Geography Section, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia
  • Mohd Radhie Mohd Salleh Hydraulics and Hydrology Research Group, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor Malaysia
  • Basri Badyalina Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University Teknologi Mara, Cawangan Johor Kampus Segamat, 85000, Johor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/mjfas.v22n1.4293

Keywords:

Machine learning, time series, predictive models, statistical method, flood forecasting

Abstract

The rise in river water levels is a critical indicator for flood risk and early warning systems particularly in flood-prone areas such as the Kemaman River in Terengganu, Malaysia. This study aims to develop a reliable forecasting model to predict daily water level fluctuations and enhance flood preparedness. A total of 3,287 daily water level observations between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2009 were used as the unit of analysis. The research addresses the limitation of traditional Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models in capturing non-linear and seasonal structures by proposing a hybrid forecasting model that integrates the ARIMA model with Seasonal and Trend Decomposition using Loess (STL). This hybrid ARIMA-STL model improves the ability to capture underlying seasonal patterns and long-term trends in water level data. The findings reveal that the hybrid model offers more accurate and stable predictions compared to the standalone ARIMA model that is effective for early warning systems and water resource management. This study fills a research gap by applying STL decomposition to enhance classical time series forecasting in hydrology that highlights the novelty of integrating statistical and decomposition techniques for improved daily river water level prediction.

Author Biography

Muhammad Wafiy Adli, School of Geography Section, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia

School of Humanities

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Published

27-02-2026