TEMERLOH – Residents in flood-affected areas are advised to relocate immediately to relief centres as soon as authorities issue a directive, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
He said the directive will be issued after taking into consideration the safety factor for residents to avoid any untoward incidents. Furthermore, he said there are provisions in the law that require residents to evacuate to relief centres if so instructed.
Based on Section 4C(1) of the Malaysian Civil Defence Act 1952 (Act 221), the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, as the disaster management committee secretariat at the state and district levels, has the authority to enforce the evacuation of residents.
“Although action can be taken on residents who do not obey (the evacuation order), at this stage we are focusing on awareness so that the community understands the order has been issued taking into account the safety of flood victims.
“We also hope that all authorities especially parents will look into the safety aspects (during floods) seriously as climate-related matters are expected to be more serious from year to year,” he told reporters after inspecting the relief centre at SMK Seri Semantan here today.
The SMK Seri Semantan relief centre, which began operations last Thursday, is housing 339 victims from 103 families, a majority of whom are from Kg Batu Kapor here, which is hit by floods annually due to its close proximity to Sg Semantan.
Armizan also said as of this morning, besides Pahang, flooding has occurred in Perak, Johor, Kelantan and Terengganu with the total number of victims at 2,763 from 834 families housed at 22 relief centres.
The community is also reminded to be always alert and refer to the latest information from verified sources regarding the floods, as the Malaysian Meteorological Department forecast expects between four and six significant episodes of continuous heavy rain during the northeast monsoon this time.
On collaboration between agencies on flood preparations, Armizan said that there is a standard operating procedure on inter-party coordination, which can be improved based on the current situation to ensure the people’s welfare is always protected. – Bernama, December 13, 2022
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