Relief centres to have solar panels and rainwater systems

JOHOR BARU: Flood evacuation centres will be equipped with solar power panels and rainwater harvesting systems, said Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

He said the centres would have constant supply of power and water when people take refuge there during major floods.

“The recent major floods in the east coast states has taught us to look at alternative ways of supplying power and water to victims at relief centres.

“There is no time frame for us to implement these measures, but we will ensure that this proposal will be carried out,” he said after launching the operation of a solar power panel system at Masjid Jamek Bandar Baru Uda here yesterday.

Mahdzir said that in the event of major floods, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) would usually cut off power supply at its sub-stations for safety measures.

“Water supply pumps will stop functioning at treatment plants, and this disrupts the water supply at the evacuation centres,” he said, adding that the solar panels and rainwater harvesting system installed at flood evacuation centres would help to provide the needed water and power for the people.

During the major floods in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, floods victims were cut off from the outside world as they could not contact their family members on their mobile phones as there was no power supply to charge them.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) said it will send a mobile testing laboratory to Kelantan to help ensure clean water supply and prevent disease outbreaks.

UTM’s Institute of Environment, Water Resources Management deputy director Prof Dr Mohd Razman Salim, claimed that most of Kelantan’s wells were currently polluted by waste water.

He said the mobile laboratory would head for Kuala Krai and Gua Musang this week.

“These two Kelantan districts were among the worst hit,” he said.

The laboratory can measure levels of metal and organic elements in water, as well as foreign particles and bacterial content.

“The mobile lab could provide results within two to three hours, compared to having to send the samples back to the university’s laboratory,” Mohd Razman said in a press conference on Sunday.