PM: Be vigilant during monsoon

Flooded out: Villagers at Kampung Wakaf Stan, Kota Baru, heading towards the nearest shelter after water levels rose following continuous heavy rain from Saturday. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on everyone to be vigilant and avoid high-risk areas during the monsoon season.

He also instructed local authorities to monitor and increase safety precautions at recreational and resort areas in their respective states.

Based on the National Disaster Management (Nadma) report, he said the relevant agencies promptly coordinated among themselves as soon as a distress call on the Batang Kali tragedy was received at 2.23am on Dec 16.

He said a team arrived at the scene at 2.58am and rescued the first victim within an hour.

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So far, 61 people have been rescued, 24 found dead, while nine others are still missing.

Following the tragedy, the government had announced immediate assistance of RM1,000 to each survivor, and RM10,000 to each family of victims who perished.

Almost 700 members from 16 federal and state government agencies were involved in the search and rescue operations and management as soon as the Control Post on Scene was opened.

Anwar, who addressed the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, conveyed condolences to all those impacted by the landslide at the campsite in Batang Kali, Selangor.

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He also extended the Dewan’s appreciation to all rescue agencies working on ground zero.

As for the weather situation, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said all disaster management committees were ready to be activated to deal with floods and possible flooding in high-risk areas.

He said relief centres were equipped with basic amenities for victims and all control posts at affected locations had been told to ensure there were sufficient operational assets.

“Victims who need emergency assistance should call the 999 line directly for further action by the authorities.

“I urge all residents in areas exposed to floods to abide by the instructions of authorities to evacuate early before the situation becomes worse, in line with the warning of continuous rain at the danger level by MetMalaysia (the Meteorological Department),” he said in a statement, Bernama reported.

Yesterday, MetMalaysia issued a warning on continuous rain at the “danger level” for Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang and at the “bad level” for Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Pahang.