27,000 firemen ready to assist
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 27,260 personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department, Auxiliary Firefighters Force and Volunteer Fire and Rescue Force nationwide are on standby to assist in flood rescue operations.
Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said all state-level fire departments were instructed to activate their flood operations room starting Nov 1 and they were required to update flood information twice daily.
“The department is 100% prepared in terms of personnel strength, vehicles or machinery and logistics assets comprising marine and land vehicles as well as aircraft that can be mobilised at any time.
“The scuba unit is also ready with a strength of 554 personnel nationwide,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
He was replying to Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Sekijang) who wanted to know the department’s level of preparedness in facing challenges during the monsoon season currently affecting several states, and the rescue efforts being implemented.
Noh said state fire departments were also asked to ensure all rescue equipment and vehicles were in tip-top condition and could be utilised, besides identifying areas at risk of floods, landslides and locations of flood evacuation centres.
They were also required to conduct surveys and formulate strategies to enable rescue operations to be implemented smoothly and effectively.
On the role of the community, Noh said the preparations entailed three stages, namely before, during and after the floods while the people must heed instructions given by rescue personnel.
He said the authorities also needed to be firm in taking action to ensure development projects implemented at the state level do not cause disasters such as landslides and floods. – Bernama