The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) director-general Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus stated that the Federal Government’s allocations for flood management in affected states depend on the severity and their actual needs. As of yesterday, Nadma has disbursed RM50mil each to Kelantan and Terengganu to help their state governments handle the floods. He added that the Federal Government has allocated an initial RM300mil to Nadma for flood management during the current monsoon season.
Khairul said Nadma, representing the Federal Government, was working fully with the state governments of Kelantan and Terengganu. The Kelantan and Terengganu governments are currently managing the situation, despite some areas such as Rantau Panjang being very critical, through their disaster management committees chaired by their respective state secretaries. Nadma has a daily briefing session with both states to assess their needs. So far, based on these daily briefings, the situation is still manageable at the state level,” said Khairul.
Inundated: A car is seen submerged after the floods in Kuala Berang, Terengganu. — BernamaHe added that as a national agency, Nadma’s priority was to help flood victims without bothering about borders or political affiliations. He also noted that based on the latest weather forecast, the situation was expected to improve. There are sufficient resources to meet current needs at evacuation centres and for search-and-rescue efforts. Nadma is also working with NGOs to ensure the distribution of assistance is better coordinated,” he said.
Additionally, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, when contacted, said that he has directed the Armed Forces to deploy their resources and manpower to help out in the affected states. The Armed Forces had previously received RM100,000 from Nadma for the procurement needs of Ops Murni in its current operations and the post-flood phase. He added that the use of Armed Forces personnel is being coordinated at the local disaster operations control centers with Nadma and other agencies. The floods have affected 24 districts in six states namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor, Sabah, and Johor, among which eight are in Kelantan, seven in Terengganu, and five in Pahang. The affected district in Selangor was Kuala Langat.
The two affected districts in Sabah were Sandakan and Paitan, while in Johor the affected district was Mersing, adding that districts in the east coast states were most severely affected. There are currently 28 officers and 489 soldiers deployed in flood-affected districts to assist in rescue and relocation aid, providing assistance at flood shelters, and mobilising forward medical teams to assist the Health Ministry in health services.
