PETALING JAYA: The registration of flood victims must be expedited to avoid late payment of Bantuan Wang Ihsan, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).

The Deputy Prime Minister said authorities are to facilitate the registration and identification process of victims so that financial aid could be distributed to those affected as soon as possible.

He also directed the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) to continuously monitor the preparedness of all agencies at every level to handle potential disasters.

Ahmad Zahid said authorities have deployed over 23,000 personnel in Sarawak, consisting of responders from the armed forces, the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, Social Welfare Department and Health Ministry.

The deployment includes a comprehensive logistics operation, featuring 526 land assets, 214 riverine and sea assets, 15 aerial assets and 269 support assets, he said.

Sabah has mobilised 14,209 responders, backed by 977 land assets, 463 water assets and 16 aerial assets, he added.

The Deputy Prime Minister said there are 15,009 victims in temporary shelters as at press time, marking a drop from 17,637 recorded earlier in the day.

Nadma’s figures indicate that 26 districts in Sarawak and Sabah were affected by floods, with 4,416 families housed in 87 temporary evacuation centres.

Ahmad Zahid, who is the central disaster management committee chairman, said three districts in Sarawak remain the hardest hit, namely Bintulu (4,928 evacuees), Serian (1,966 evacuees) and Selangau (1,056 evacuees).

“As weather conditions improve, response teams, with NGOS and local communities, should now focus on post-flood recovery and repairs while maintaining high preparedness levels in case of further rainfall and flooding.”

He added that the government has allocated emergency funds to all states and response agencies to support flood operations for the 2024/2025 northeast monsoon.