Folk in flood-prone areas told to prepare for evacuations

KUANTAN: Residents living in flood-prone areas are advised to be ready for early evacuation as a safety measure, says the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin.

“If there are families with children, pregnant mothers and individuals who are ill, then they must evacuate early.

“What we are concerned about is that the floodwaters increase rapidly at night. In terms of rescue operations it will be quite difficult and dangerous as we cannot see clearly from a distance and if there are any obstacles while traversing the flooded areas,” he said, Bernama reported.

He also reminded residents to bring along important documents and basic necessities when instructed to evacuate.

He said this at a press conference after officiating the Pahang JBPM Outstanding Service Awards, conferment of ranks and ‘Jasamu Di Kenang’ yesterday.

It was also attended by state JBPM director Datuk Dr Wan Mohammad Zaidi Wan Isa.

Separately, Abdul Wahab said that under the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RP4 12MP), several new fire stations would be built, among them in Pahang, namely in Pulau Tioman, Rompin and Benta, Lipis.

In KOTA BARU, the Kelantan Civil Defence Force (APM) said it was prepared to mobilise all its assets to face any possibility during the northeast monsoon period expected to begin this month.

Its director Kol (PA) Mohd Adzhar Mujab said they included 70 boats, 17 four-wheel drive vehicles and 12 lorries in all 10 districts in the state.

“We have ensured all assets are functioning well as repairs have been completed since September and we have conducted periodic checks.

“We want everything to go smoothly without any hiccups, especially during crucial moments, if something unexpected happens,” he said yesterday.

The division of the assets would be determined according to the scale of floods identified in the state’s districts, especially in Pasir Mas, Tumpat and Pasir Puteh.

Mohd Adzhar also said that APM had recalled all its volunteer personnel registered with the agency to undergo flood preparedness training to bolster the existing 970 personnel.

“A total of 900 people have been called to undergo basic technical and logistics training last week, with 300 people for the first session.

“A follow-up training session will be held to cover various preparation aspects so they can get used to operations,” he said, adding that operations rooms in 10 districts had been activated to operate round the clock.