KUCHING: A total of 6,099 government agencies are well-prepared to provide assistance when floods hit Sarawak this week.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said some 5,000 personnel from the Police Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM), Civil Defence Force (APM), Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), RELA and other government authorities will be on the ground to rescue victims and facilitate evacuees.
The second wave of floods is expected to occur in the next few days and three temporary evacuation centres (PPS) have been set up in Kampung Jugan and Kampung Opar in Bau and Kampung Bedaun in Kuching.
Uggah, who is also State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman, said necessary assistance has been rendered to the victims in the PPS, especially with food by JKM.
Meanwhile, Uggah also urged all division Residents and District Officers to activate their operations room immediately due to the expected continuous heavy rainfall.
“This will enable us to coordinate with the ground operations together with all the relevant agencies.
“The participation of non-governmental organisations (NGO) to help the government in helping the flood victims must be well coordinated,” he told reporters at Wisma Bapa Malaysia today.
Hence, any NGOs that wish to provide assistance should coordinate with the Division or District Disaster Committee.
“We have a response team ready on the ground throughout Sarawak to help mitigate flood issues, especially in rural areas such as Telang Usan.
“All agencies will work together and we also have 67 teams on standby in the rural areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, news agency Reuters reported earlier that more than 72,000 victims were forced to evacuate after floods hit six states in Malaysia.
The Anwar-led Administration, under the unapproved 2023 Budget, has allocated RM15 billion for flood mitigation measures.
