KUALA TERENGGANU – Terengganu is prepared to deal with the possibility of “unusual” floods during the coming northeast monsoon season, said State Secretary Datuk Tengku Farok Hussin Tengku Abdul Jalil.
He said floods were nothing new to the east coast states of Terengganu, Kelantan, and Pahang, but it was still important for the authorities to be prepared for possible massive floods.
“We have to learn from what happened previously, including in Selangor,” he told reporters after the closing ceremony of a tabletop simulation of the Kenyir Dam emergency action plan here today.
“So we have discussed new standard operating procedures (SOPs), in case the state is hit by unusual floods like what happened early February.”
Tengku Farok Hussin, who is Terengganu Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) secretariat chairman, said they had asked the relevant agencies to revisit the SOPs on evacuation of flood victims to make them more practical.
“We have suggested that the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) look into the possibility of enforcing any law on evacuation of flood victims,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nadma deputy director-general (operation implementation division) Meor Ismail Meor Akim said they would study whether it was possible to formulate laws on this matter.
“There are two (possibilities): having a regulation to compel flood victims to evacuate, and another to prevent them from returning (to flooded areas) as they wish.
“There were cases in Selangor where victims were safely evacuated but died after returning to their homes without informing anyone,” he said.
Tengku Farok Hussin said the two-day tabletop simulation was a good initiative undertaken jointly by Nadma, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and Terengganu SDMC.
A bigger exercise involving local residents will be held on October 26 in Hulu Terengganu as it is the area nearest to Kenyir Dam. – Bernama, September 28, 2022
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