JOHOR BARU: With the threat of a second wave of floods looming, authorities in Johor are making sure that 1,109 temporary relief centres in the state are well stocked with food and other essential items for evacuees, says state exco member Khairin Nisa Ismail.
She said the state Welfare Department has made full preparations for the monsoon season.
“The department is among the agencies involved in helping out flood victims during the monsoon season.
“Among the roles that the department is playing is providing and coordinating temporary relief centres, registering the victims as well as providing counselling and psychological support to them.
“We also make sure that the victims placed at the temporary relief centres will be able to get freshly cooked food and other essential items to make their stay comfortable,” she said here yesterday.
She added that the state government has appointed more than 200 food suppliers to provide meals for victims at the temporary relief centres in Johor.
Khairin Nisa, who is the women, family and community development committee chairman, said the department would also be providing other essential items to the victims such as ready-to-eat meals, self-cleaning kits, baby and adult diapers, blankets, pillows, towels and sanitary napkins for women.
These items are stored at department store rooms and depots throughout Johor.
She said the disaster storage depot southern zone is located along Jalan Abdul Rahman in Muar while the Johor disaster storage is at Kompleks Penyayang in Kempas here.
“These also include 16 mini stores and nine main stores to keep the supplies at districts as part of our flood preparations,” she said.
Khairin Nisa urged the government to ensure that the supply of food and other essential items for flood victims at the temporary relief centres will not be disrupted.
“We welcome NGOs and the private sector who want to donate essential items for the flood victims. They should not go straight to the flood relief centres to hand over their donations,” she said
“They should instead contact the disaster operations control centre or the Welfare Department first,” she added.
This, she said, is to ensure that coordination in the supply of essential items from volunteer groups and NGOs are done correctly to prevent wastage and that no victims will be left out of assistance.
