Kuala Lumpur: Lebih 37,000 anggota daripada pelbagai agensi dikerahkan bagi membantu pengurusan banjir di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, berkata sebanyak 526 aset digunakan, termasuk 214 aset laut/sungai, 15 aset udara dan 269 aset sokongan.

Beliau yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Pusat, berkata seramai 23,000 kakitangan agensi awam bertugas membantu mangsa banjir di Sarawak, manakala 14,209 orang di Sabah.

Setakat jam 5 petang semalam, katanya, 12,862 daripada 3,771 keluarga masih berada di 65 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS) seluruh Sarawak.

Ahmad Zahid berkata, proses pendaftaran dan pengesahan mangsa banjir dipermudah dan disegerakan bagi mengelakkan kelewatan pembayaran Bantuan Wang Ihsan.

“Saya akan meminta pihak Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (NADMA) selaku urus setia kepada Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Pusat (JPBP) supaya terus memantau tahap kesiapsiagaan semua agensi terbabit di semua peringkat untuk menghadapi bencana,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, orang ramai diingatkan bersedia dengan beg kecemasan dan segera berpindah ke PPS apabila diarahkan.

“Pusat Kawalan Bencana Negara yang beroperasi 24 jam setiap hari akan sentiasa memantau dan melaporkan keadaan semasa,” katanya.

Pulih daripada banjir Kota Kinabalu BERNAMA melaporkan, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud dan Telupid diisytiharkan pulih daripada banjir semalam dan semua penduduk yang terjejas di ketiga-tiga daerah itu dibenarkan pulang.

Pengisytiharan itu dibuat Pegawai Daerah Kota Marudu, Meirin Sugara; Pegawai Daerah Kota Belud, Peter Jiton dan Pegawai Daerah Telupid, Celestine Jetony. Mereka ialah Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Daerah masing-masing.

KOTA KINABALU: Residents displaced by recent floods in three districts have begun returning home as temporary evacuation centres (PPS) close, following improved weather conditions and receding floodwaters.

All eight shelters in Kota Marudu were the first to shut at 10am on Feb 1 after assessments confirmed that water levels had fully receded and affected homes were safe for occupancy, said Kota Marudu district officer Meirin Sugara.

“Considering the favourable weather conditions and safe water levels, we declare all PPS closed, and affected residents can now return home,” she said in a statement.

The Kota Marudu district disaster management committee chairman added that the Disaster Operations Commander has been directed to coordinate personnel, assets and logistics to facilitate the return of evacuees.

“I also request agencies on the ground to assess whether integrated post-disaster recovery activities are necessary,” she said.

Kota Marudu was the hardest-hit district, with 2,360 evacuees from 866 families seeking shelter at eight centres.

Apart from Kota Marudu, Kota Belud and Telupid have also closed their evacuation centres at about 1pm, according to the districts’ officers.

Besides the three districts, continuous heavy rain earlier this week had also affected Pitas, Beluran, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Beaufort, Tongod and Paitan, according to the Disaster Info Portal of the Social Welfare Department.

According to a statement by the Beaufort district disaster management committee, the flood situation in Beaufort and surrounding districts is improving, with water levels gradually receding in most affected areas.

However, several roads remain accessible only to heavy vehicles and two schools are still impacted by flooding, the committee said.

Heavy rainfall since Jan 24 caused the Padas river to swell, triggering floods across multiple villages in the Keningau Zone (Tenom, Nabawan, Keningau and Sook) and the Beaufort Zone (Beaufort and Sipitang).

As of yesterday morning, the Civil Defence Force has confirmed that water levels in several villages had receded or were showing a downward trend, the committee said.

Villages where waters have fully receded include Kg Batu 60, Kg Binunuk, Kg Balibata, Kg Bakalau, and Kg Lago, while waters in Kg Suasa remain stable.

The floods that hit several villages in this district following two days of continuous heavy rain since Wednesday have been described by locals as among the worst, with water levels rising swiftly.

Flood victims housed at the temporary relief centre (PPS) at SMK Bandau said they only managed to save essential items like important documents, while some could only escape with their families.

Noraidah Lamada, 33, from Kampung Sumbilingon Laut, said it was the worst flood the village had experienced in more than two decades.

“Whenever there’s a prolonged downpour, this village usually floods, but never this badly.

“This time, the water surged quickly, and most of us could only think of saving our families.

“The flooding happened in the middle of the night, making it even more terrifying because of the darkness.

“We were fortunate to be rescued by the Civil Defence Force and the Fire and Rescue Department before being safely moved to the PPS,” she told Bernama.

Noraidah said the floods washed away all her household items and estimated her losses to be more than RM10,000.

As of 8am yesterday, Kota Marudu continued to record the highest number of evacuees, with 2,944 people from 1,095 families out of a total of 5,216 victims from 1,820 families.

Another victim, Ida Mariana Marimpan, 40, said as the water level rose, she and her husband managed to rescue only their three children before being evacuated to the PPS.

“It was heartbreaking to see our home in disarray, with household items including electrical appliances washed away. Now, we have to replace everything that was lost or damaged.

“I hope the authorities, especially the government, can help ease our burden,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Azrul Lamada, 37, from Kampung Kuranji, said although this was not the worst flood the village had ever seen, it was among the most severe due to the speed of the rising waters.

“Many residents were unable to save their belongings, including vehicles. Previously, when major floods occurred, the water levels rose gradually and people had time to move their vehicles to safer ground,” he said.

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.