KUALA TERENGGANU: All eight district offices in Terengganu have been instructed to engage in flood simulation exercises involving community leaders with immediate effect to prepare for the coming monsoon.
State Secretary Datuk Wan Nawawi Wan Ismail said although the forecast from the Meteorological Department indicated a "mild" wet season, all those involved in flood preparations must not take things for granted.
"We have a template on how everyone should respond to a flood situation; the last flood was 12 months ago. The agencies and community leaders may have forgotten some of the procedures and guidelines.
"Never take things easy and treat disaster management as a routine. Everyone involved must be alert and prepared for action.
"Having the best standard operating procedures does not mean a thing if we take things for granted. We are talking about saving human lives and properties as well as minimising damages," he told the New Straits Times.
The State Disaster Management Committee had its first meeting last week, attended by the Civil Defence Department, district offices, Fire and Rescue Department and several other relevant agencies.
Wan Nawawi said the flood was forecast to be "mild" this coming monsoon because the La Nina and El Nino effects are not expected to occur.
"We are expected to maintain the number of evacuation centres and forward bases as well as maintain helicopter landing sites.
"In this respect, all village security and development committees will act as the frontline to assist agencies under the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) in evacuating victims in flood-prone areas,” he said.
Last year, the state government identified 494 evacuation centres, which were able to house 133,729 flood victims. It also identified 160 schools which could accommodate 50,460 people and 317 community halls and centres to house another 36,569 flood evacuees.
A total of 3,182 officers from related agencies such as the state’s Fire and Rescue Department, RELA, Armed Forces and Civil Defence Department are on standby to assist evacuees in areas inundated by floods.
"I hope to get the necessary feedback on the state of our preparedness in the next meeting.
"Last year's post-mortem will be used to make necessary improvements. Our objective is to ensure all victims are safe and receive aid," he said.
