KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) does not have funds ready to deal with flood disasters – a fact made known in a meeting between Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also Sabah agriculture and fisheries minister, and Sabah DID today.
According to the department's director Waily Harim, under National Security Council Directive No. 20, disaster management comes under the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the secretariat of the Central Disaster Management Committee.
“Generally, Nadma’s scope includes all coordination activities and cooperation before and during disasters. This includes prevention, mitigation of disaster risks, preparedness, disaster response, and rehabilitation and redevelopment activities,” said Kitingan in a statement released tonight.
Still, Kitingan said, DID will conduct inspection and evaluation of mitigation work on infrastructure.
The work involves funding applications to repair post-flood disasters from the state and federal governments, he added.
“At the same time, DID will also focus efforts on long-term solutions to deal with issues based on structural and non-structural approaches.
“Structural approaches involve the construction of new structures, which require massive funding, compared to non-structural approaches.
“The main objective is to ensure all projects are directed towards finding a holistic solution,” he said.
Kitingan said DID is in the midst of developing an early warning system under the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre Division of Water Resources and Hydrology, which comes under the federal Environment and Water Ministry.
The development of the early warning system is being done nationwide, including in Sabah, under the 12th Malaysia Plan, where once completed, the system will be able to forecast future flood incidents at least seven days before disaster hits, he said. – The Vibes, January 4, 2022
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