PETALING JAYA: From mobile toilets to water purifiers, all essential supplies needed in the event of a flood evacuation have been stockpiled and ready.
Heavy rains are set to lash the east coast when the north-east monsoon starts this month and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) is keeping a close eye on these states and Johor.
Learning from experience from the massive floods of 2014, where 500,000 were forced to evacuate their homes, Nadma is leaving nothing to chance.
Its deputy director (operations implementation sector) Zainal Azman Abu Seman said the agency was formed to ensure past mistakes were not repeated.
“Since then, we have engaged with international and local experts on how best to handle national emergencies,” he said.
These include regional disaster coordinators from Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, he added.
Zainal Azman said federal and state governments, including non-Barisan Nasional states, understood better the need to cooperate to avoid chaos.
National disaster preparedness meetings, chaired by the deputy prime minister, were held in April and August.
Flood evacuation simulations, he said, had been held at all states.
Zainal Azman said there was now better coordination among agencies involved in search-and-rescue at the district, state and federal levels.
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