Floods: Overcrowding of evacuees at relief centres resolved, says Rina Harun

KUANTAN: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has increased the number of relief centres to address the issue of overcrowding at centres, says Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun (pic).

The minister said there were only 5,731 registered relief centres nationwide initially and the ministry had added another 78 more to accommodate the growing number of evacuees, especially in the badly affected areas.

"The disaster was unexpected...some houses that were never inundated before were flooded....what’s important, they manage to evacuate and we have placed them (at the nearest relief centres) while we open other centres for evacuees to provide shelter to them,” she told reporters after visiting the Wisma Belia relief centre that was housing 224 people from 63 families around Kuantan, on Friday (Dec 24).

She added that the ministry was also trying to provide facilities and necessities to flood victims as best as possible and evacuees should contact the the Social Welfare Department (JKM) operations room, which is operating around the clock, if any issue arose.

Meanwhile, Rina said the ministry appreciated the willingness of various parties, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and volunteers, to donate and would not hinder aid deliveries as they did not want bureaucracy to hold things up.

"When people want to help, we should not hinder. What’s important is that assistance reaches the recipients, but if they send aid to evacuation centres like this, the management can record and know what is received and what is required by victims, making it more organised,” Rina said.

Apart from placing certified counsellors at centres to provide psychosocial services to flood victims, MamaCare practitioners, under the National Population and Family Development Board, were also stationed there to provide postnatal care for mothers who had just given birth to their children, she added.- Bernama