Only a few states affected, no need to declare flood emergency - Zahid

The government has no intention of declaring a flood emergency for now, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid, who is the Central Disaster Management Committee chairperson, said this was because only several states and certain districts were currently affected by floods.

“I don’t think a flood emergency should be declared because it only involves certain states and districts. The state disaster management committees (SDMC) have taken proactive measures together with the district disaster management committees.

“The aid provided has been given to all the heads of families and, at the same time, we have other matters that need to be carried out, including post-flood assistance,” he told a media conference after visiting the Mersing Polytechnic temporary relief centre today.

Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Johor State Secretary Azmi Rohani.

Overall, he said the state government informed that Mersing required a total of RM2.3 billion to overcome flood issues through long-term plans.

“However, they have (for now, only) applied for an allocation of about RM50 million to be channelled to the state government and districts through the DID for medium-term flood mitigation projects in low-lying areas in the district.

“I will sort this out with the Nadma director-general (Khairul Shahril Idrus) personally, definitely through the allocation from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,” he said.

Earlier, Zahid also visited the centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Mersing.

He was also given a briefing on the flood situation in the district, including mitigation plans like the ones at the Sungai Mersing and Sungai Tenglu Besar basins, by DID’s Shahril.

So far, only three states have been hit by floods, with Sabah recording the highest number of evacuees totalling 2,639 people, followed by Johor (2,464 victims) and Pahang (314 people).

- Bernama

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