Floods: Special ops to help victims being carried out in Johor, says MB

JOHOR BARU: The State Disaster Management Committee is currently conducting special operations to help flood victims in critical areas of the state, says Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

The Johor Mentri Besar said that a meeting was held Saturday (March 4) night, involving district officers and the relevant agencies to coordinate the operations on Sunday (March 5).

“This special operation will be conducted in critical areas, and we will continue to help flood victims. We have also decided on several matters that were discussed during the meeting," he said in a statement on his Facebook account.

Also present at the meeting held at the state flood operations room were Deputy State Secretary (Management) Datuk Noh Ibrahim, and Deputy State Secretary (Sports, Youth and Volunteering) Datuk On Jabbar @ Jaafar.

Proper preparation and coordination should be made to face the possibility of another wave of flooding following a danger-level continuous rain warning issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department for several districts in Johor, he added.

Onn Hafiz also expressed his appreciation to state government officials as well as personnel from the agencies involved, who worked day and night to help flood victims.

“A total of 12,975 people from various agencies, departments, and NGOs have been part of the rescue operations in the state, and we should show our appreciation to them.

“Only Allah SWT can pay for what these unsung heroes have done,” he said, adding that he had also visited the Johor Baru Civil Defence Force office to check on their preparations to go to Batu Pahat.

“I have given them some words of encouragement and prayed for their safety, besides reminding them to take care of themselves when they are conducting rescue work on the flood victims,” he said.

As at 8am, the number of flood victims in Johor is at 44,860, with the largest number of evacuees located in Batu Pahat with 14,030.