SEGAMAT – Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (Nadma) akan mengadakan latihan dan simulasi melibatkan penduduk di kawasan berisiko bagi menghadapi bencana gempa bumi.

Ketua Pengarah Nadma, Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah berkata, latihan dan simulasi itu akan dilaksana melibatkan agensi kerajaan seperti bomba, polis dan komuniti setempat serta pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO).

“Inisiatif ini bukan perkara yang luar biasa kerana telah dilaksanakan di Sabah pada tahun lepas dengan komuniti setempat.

“Nadma telah mengatur beberapa siri latihan dan simulasi. Bagaimanapun gegaran gempa bumi di Segamat berlaku di luar jangka.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika ditemui pemberita selepas Program Pengurusan Risiko Bencana Gempa Bumi Bersama Pemimpin Komuniti Daerah Segamat Tahun 2025 di Dewan Serbaguna Jalan Genuang, di sini, hari ini.

Abdul Halim berkata, latihan simulasi itu akan memberi peluang kepada semua lapisan masyarakat terlibat secara langsung dalam persediaan menghadapi bencana alam tersebut.

Jelasnya, kaedah simulasi itu bukan sekadar latihan di bilik mesyuarat tetapi melibatkan pelbagai senario seperti banjir, gempa bumi dan tanah runtuh supaya komuniti tahu tindakan yang perlu diambil sekiranya insiden benar-benar berlaku.

Beliau turut berkongsi kejayaan program serupa yang pernah dijalankan di Sabah pada tahun lalu, apabila komuniti setempat didapati lebih bersedia apabila berdepan insiden sebenar hanya beberapa hari selepas latihan simulasi dilaksanakan.

Justeru, apa yang berlaku di Segamat menjadi isyarat bahawa kerajaan perlu mengambil tindakan balas yang progresif dan berterusan untuk memastikan rakyat benar-benar bersedia.

Pelaksanaan program itu ujarnya, juga sejajar dengan Bulan Kesiapsiagaan Nasional yang diraikan setiap Oktober, yang selama ini lebih menumpukan aspek persediaan menghadapi banjir. – MalaysiaGazette

WASHINGTON: Nearly three dozen current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency staff have warned Congress about the inexperience of Trump administration appointees potentially causing a catastrophe comparable to Hurricane Katrina.

The letter represents a rare public expression of internal dissent within the disaster response agency.

It specifically criticised Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting FEMA director David Richardson for lacking qualifications to manage natural disasters.

Noem’s requirement to review all contracts and grants exceeding $100,000 “reduces FEMA’s authorities and capabilities to swiftly deliver our mission,“ the letter states.

They also sought protection for employees from politically motivated dismissals to prevent “not only another national catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, but the effective dissolution of FEMA itself.”

Acting FEMA press secretary Daniel Llargues stated the agency remains “committed to ensuring FEMA delivers for the American people.”

He attributed current challenges to bureaucratic inefficiencies that the Trump administration “has made accountability and reform a priority.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the criticisms against Secretary Noem.

Approximately 2,000 FEMA employees, representing one third of its workforce, have departed this year through various means including firings and early retirements.

The administration additionally plans to cut about $1 billion in grant funding affecting emergency management programs.

This protest letter emerged just before the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which caused catastrophic flooding and claimed more than 1,800 lives in 2005.

It also coincides with the current hurricane season and President Trump’s stated intention to significantly reduce FEMA’s size and mandate.

The letter warns that current policies are reversing post-Katrina reforms by reducing funding and hampering rapid response capabilities through stringent oversight.

It urges Congress to defend FEMA from cuts and ensure leadership by qualified disaster management professionals.

Acting administrator David Richardson, a former Marine and DHS official, previously demonstrated limited awareness of hurricane season timing.

His June admission of not knowing the hurricane season runs from June through November left many staff members baffled. – Reuters

MADRID: Spanish authorities reported just over a dozen serious wildfires still burning across the country as foreign assistance begins to wind down.

The civil protection service confirmed 14 active wildfires classified as operation level two, indicating they pose significant danger to people and property.

This number represents a decrease from 18 fires reported on Saturday and 21 fires documented last week.

Four people have died during this month’s devastating wildfires that have consumed vast areas of land throughout Spain.

She specifically highlighted reignition as a major challenge while adding: “The evolution is favourable in most of the fires”.

Barcones noted that winds have been “more intense” and temperatures higher on Monday but forecasts predict improved weather conditions for Tuesday.

Spanish firefighters have received crucial support from international teams from other European Union countries during weeks of intense firefighting operations.

The European Forest Fire Information System reported these blazes have scorched more than 350,000 hectares (865,000 acres) over the past two weeks.

The hardest-hit regions were located in northern and western Spain, particularly Castile and Leon, Extremadura, and Galicia.

These catastrophic fires flared during a severe two-week heatwave that pushed temperatures above 40C throughout the country.

Foreign firefighting teams from Finland and France will begin returning home Tuesday according to the latest schedule.

German crews will return on Wednesday while Romanian teams are scheduled to leave Thursday, Barcones confirmed.

Three wildfire-related deaths occurred in Castile and Leon, with another fatality reported near the Madrid region.

Scientists worldwide assert that climate change is driving longer, more intense, and more frequent heatwaves that fuel such devastating wildfires. – AFP

LISBON: Nearly 1,000 firefighters remained mobilised on Monday in central Portugal to prevent flare-ups of what authorities described as the country’s largest recorded forest fire.

The blaze was only brought under control on Sunday after raging for 11 days and having burned 64,451 hectares (160,000 acres), according to National Civil Protection Authority spokesman Commander Telmo Ferreira.

That made it the largest fire ever recorded in Portugal, surpassing the previous record of 53,000 hectares devastated by a forest fire in October 2017.

The blaze covered seven municipalities in Coimbra, Guarda, and Castelo Branco districts and was caused by lightning strikes, officials confirmed.

Monday brought some respite as the civil protection system recorded no fresh outbreaks from a summer which has seen Portugal and neighbouring Spain suffer a slew of fires.

Since July, forest fires have killed four people in Portugal, destroyed homes and crops, and ravaged some 278,000 hectares, according to European Forest Fire Information System data.

Portugal’s worst year was in 2017, when more than 563,000 hectares were burned in wildfires that killed 119 people, according to EFFIS records.

The government has announced a number of emergency measures to help affected areas, including funding for the reconstruction of destroyed homes and aid for farmers.

The Iberian Peninsula has been severely affected by climate change, which is causing longer and more intense heatwaves, according to experts. – AFP