BALING – Authorities have taken immediate action, but the process of recovery in the areas affected by the July 4 debris flows will take time because many aspects need to be looked into to ensure that such incidents do not recur, said Baling district officer Mohd Shahadan Abdullah.
He said the measures include providing residents with financial assistance and essential items, immediate work on deepening the river, building bailey bridges, and relocating residents to safer areas.
He said the federal and state governments had also announced other measures, including a flood mitigation project to protect the welfare of the people affected by the incident, adding that these measures will however take time to be implemented.
“However, the things that we can speed up have been implemented as soon as possible, for example, the work on deepening the river, clearing the paths, and repairing the damage to the bailey bridge,” he said today.
He said this when asked to comment on a recent report by a news portal that highlighted residents’ claims that no swift and drastic action had been taken since the flood incident.
Shahadan said that so far, a total of 17 contractors have been appointed to speed up the work to deepen the river and build the embankment, adding that they are now working from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
“No party, including the government and myself, want to see more lives lost as a result of this disaster...the people just need to give the authorities some time to repair…the government has taken action.
“There are areas that were previously frequently hit by flash floods, but the effects were not as bad as the incident on July 4. That is why I say that many aspects need to be looked into before action can be taken so that this problem can be solved. Whatever we can do immediately, we will do it quickly for the sake of the people there,” he said.
“I am confident that the government will intensify efforts to tackle this problem and expedite the necessary actions to prevent the incident from recurring. On behalf of the Baling district office, we will continue efforts to repair the infrastructure in the affected areas,” he said, adding that playing the blame game will not solve the problem.
According to Shahadan, 15 houses that were damaged in the disaster had been repaired and the district office, Kedah Regional Development Authority, as well as relevant village heads and Village Development and Security Committee chairmen had identified houses that had not been repaired so that immediate action could be taken.
He also said Syarikat Air Darul Aman has been working to repair the affected water system to ensure residents get clean water supply. – Bernama, September 14, 2022
