The government is heightening preparations for the possibility of floods, particularly by increasing the disaster management capacity and facilities at the relief centres to ensure the evacuees are well served and aided.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) would be monitoring the change in weather in facing the possibility of floods, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu.

“We will set up cooking areas and bathrooms at the relief centres for the comfort of the flood evacuees.

“Besides, the Civil Defence Force will increase its assets at various levels to be sent out to various flood locations,” he told reporters today.

Earlier, he had attended the handing out of assets and equipment for flood relief centres by Nadma director-general Abdul Rashid Harun to Kota Belud district officer, Abdul Gari Itam at Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya today.

Also present were Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak, who is also Usukan assemblyman, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who is also Kota Belud MP.

The assets and other items included two five-tonne lorries, four glass fibre boats with their 5hp engines, 450 partition tents, cooking utensils, blankets, pillows, mats and futons for the Kota Belud district.

Shahidan said the Kota Belud District Flood Management Committee had identified the weaknesses and shortages in managing floods in the area and hopefully, the additional assets and items could smoothen the effort.

Meanwhile, Rahman said floods were a new phenomenon in Kota Belud district which was hit by floods 94 times this year, with nine times out of which required the evacuation of victims to the relief centres.

He said the district with some 93,000 residents had been declared a rather critical flood-prone area in Sabah currently, as a result of the earthquake that hit Mount Kinabalu in June, 2015.

“The earthquake had sent down hundreds of thousands of tonnes of earth, mud and rocks into the rivers at the foot of the mountain, causing these rivers to be shallow.

“Besides that, the water catchment areas at Mount Kinabalu had also been destroyed due to the quake, thus contributing to more frequent flooding in the surrounding area.

“This is a very sad phenomenon and according to the experts, the landscape of Kota Belud has changed, especially the rivers and it would take at least 50 years for these to return to the original state, even that if we are lucky,” he said.

- Bernama