KUCHING: Simulations of rescue operations and the rendering of assistance to people hit by natural disasters were carried out along Batang Sadong River and SK Haji Bujang Rangawan Putin in Sadong Jaya today.
They constituted a Field-Training Exercise (FTX) prior to a programme called Pacific Partnership 2019 (PP19).
The simulations were made so real and began with a “press statement issued by Joint Forces headquarters yesterday” that said heavy rain and storm occurred throughout Sarawak on April 5.
“Several areas near the river were flooded. Certain areas in Kuching, Miri, Bintulu and Kapit were hit by severe floods,” the statement said.
“The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) was instructed by the government to coordinate the assistance. The United States (US) government is one of the earliest countries to provide assistance by sending its vessel, USNS Fall River, together with personnel from partner nations to provide assistance,” it continued.
The statement added that on April 6, in order to run the simulations, the State Operations Room and some District Operations Rooms were activated.
The simulated scenario was: A total of 256 evacuation centres were opened for 91,203 flood victims. For the Samarahan Division, the worst affected areas were Asajaya District, Sebuyau and Simunjan. The water levels of Batang Sadong and Batang Samarahan rose dramatically. Many areas were disconnected and epidemics started to spread. This caused residents living near the river to be transferred to four newly opened evacuation centres.
According to the same press statement, several military trucks, ambulances and eight boats from multiple agencies such as the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), the Malaysian Civil Defense Force (MCDF) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency were mobilised to help evacuate flood victims from several villages to evacuation centres.
The process involved other agencies such as the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Social Welfare Department (JKM), the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) and Ministry of Health to help flood victims and provide medical treatment to the injured.
First Infantry Division Commander Major General Datuk Md Din Abu who also monitored the exercise stated that the goal of the activity was to observe inter-agency cooperation and their involvement in the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission.
“Although we already have the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on natural disasters which is directive number 20 of the National Security Council (MKN 20), we want to test the readiness of our personnel in this situation,” he said.
The simulations of humanitarian missions and overcoming natural disasters by the various agencies were conducted in conjunction with the Pacific Partnership 2019 with the US Army.
The participants had previously conducted a Table Top Exercise (TTX) to discuss the best way of implementing the FTX.
Excellent cooperation among agencies involved can be seen throughout the FTX on how they handled problems in this exercise.
Amongst those present at the event were PP19 Mission Commander US Navy Captain Randy Van Rossum, PP19 director Colonel (Dr) Mohamed Zaki Mohamed Mokhtar and PP19 Chief of Staff Royal Australian Navy Captain Brendon Zilko.
