PUTRAJAYA JAN 3: The Central Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) will soon come up with short and long term national flood management and measures once the Northeast Monsoon season ends.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, the Ministry of Environment and Water has proposed to elevate the level of protection for the drainage and coastal infrastructures nationwide.
Ismail added, the proposal includes the drainage and coastal infrastructure design from 100 years Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) to 200 years ARI.
“The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has also proposed some improvements and this include Centralised Flood Siren Warning System coordinated by the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) besides more sirens equipped with voice warnings at flood-risk locations to warn residents to evacuate,” Ismail said after chairing the Special Meeting of the Northeast Monsoon Disaster Post-Flood Management Task Force today.
Prime Minister Ismail emphasized that closed circuit cameras will also be installed to monitor river water levels and alert the residents to evacuate once the river waters reach the danger level.
He added, other improvements will also include on the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) besides Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) via activities of flood management training and dissemination of information by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia.
According to Ismail, the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia has implemented communication strategies involving announcements, warnings and updates, announcement of government assistances, identifying issues raised by the people and coordinating with various agencies apart from detecting false news and promptly publish disclaimers.
Ismail said the implementation of the initiatives by the Northeast Monsoon Disaster Post-Flood Management Task Force will be monitored to ensure the mechanisms of national disaster preparedness and management are always streamlined and at the optimum level. –Malaysia World News
