OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Sikie: Bomba helicopters to deliver aid to flood-affected areas in Tatau if roads, rivers impassable
Sikie: Bomba helicopters to deliver aid to flood-affected areas in Tatau if roads, rivers impassable
- Admin UKK
- Berita
BINTULU (Jan 27): About 8,000 residents in Penyarai, Kakus, Nanga Tau, Muput, and Ulu Anap are currently affected by flooding, said Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai.
Speaking during his visit to Rumah Steven Jeli temporary evacuation centre (PPS) yesterday, Sikie, who is Kakus assemblyman, said that the access roads to these isolated areas have been cut off.
To ensure residents receive necessary supplies, he said the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Air Unit helicopters will deliver food today, covering around 100 settlements.
He added the food supply delivery operation, which began on Jan 25, is coordinated by the Tatau District Disaster Management Committee (JKPD).
This operation is carried out in collaboration with agencies such as the Welfare Department, Civil Defence Force, and Tatau/Sebauh District Education Office.
“To date, 572 packets of food supplies have been delivered to the affected areas.
“For those still awaiting assistance, patience is requested as logistical challenges are being addressed.
“Food supplies that cannot be delivered by road or river will be airlifted by Bomba, weather permitting,” he said.
In the meantime, Sikie also hoped that each longhouse designated as a PPS will have a hall constructed for the comfort of relocated residents.
He said this proposal will be submitted to the State Disaster Management Committee for consideration.
Regarding frequently flooded schools such as SK Muput, SK Kuala Muput, SK Rumah Keseng, SK Rumah Tayai, SK Nanga Penyarai, and SK Nanga Tau, Sikie urged the Education Department and the Ministry of Education, both state and federal, to consider relocating these schools to higher, flood-free locations.
He also suggested that school Parents Teacher Associations propose suitable locations for new school buildings.
“The state and federal governments’ attention to this matter is crucial, as frequent flooding disrupts students’ learning and causes property damage. Relocating schools to suitable areas is essential,” he said.
For the record, the PPS at Rumah Steven Jeli was officially opened by Tatau District officer Calvin Ligong at 9pm on Jan 23, following the unsafe conditions at SK Kuala Muput.
As of today, 34 people from 13 families from SK Kuala Muput remain at the PPS.
Heavy rain on Jan 22 and 23 caused flooding in several areas, including Penyarai, Ulu Anap, Kakus, Muput, and Nanga Tau.
Several schools in Tatau, including SK Kuala Muput, SK Nanga Penyarai, SK Rumah Tayai, and SK Rumah Keseng, were also affected.
Earlier, Calvin, who is also Tatau District Disaster Management Committee chairman expressed gratitude to all government agencies involved for their cooperation in managing the flood situation in Tatau.
PETALING JAYA – Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia) menjangkakan hujan lebat dan angin kencang di lima negeri sehingga pukul 1 tengah hari ini.
MetMalaysia menerusi kenyataan memaklumkan, negeri yang terjejas adalah Kelantan, Pahang, Johor dan Sabah.
“Di Kelantan, hujan lebat diramalkan berlaku di Kuala Krai dan Gua Musang manakala di Pahang, di Tanah Tinggi Cameron, Lipis, Jerantut, Kuantan, Pekan dan Rompin,” katanya.
Bagi Johor pula, beberapa kawasan melibatkan Segamat dan Mersing turut sama terjejas dengan ribut petir pagi ini.
Sementara itu di Sabah, keadaan yang sama dijangka berlaku di Pedalaman (Kuala Penyu dan Beaufort) dan Pantai Barat (Papar) manakala di Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan melibatkan keseluruhan kawasan. – KOSMO! ONLINE
PETALING JAYA – Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia) menjangkakan hujan lebat dan angin kencang di lima negeri sehingga pukul 1 tengah hari ini.
MetMalaysia menerusi kenyataan memaklumkan, negeri yang terjejas adalah Kelantan, Pahang, Johor dan Sabah.
“Di Kelantan, hujan lebat diramalkan berlaku di Kuala Krai dan Gua Musang manakala di Pahang, di Tanah Tinggi Cameron, Lipis, Jerantut, Kuantan, Pekan dan Rompin,” katanya.
Bagi Johor pula, beberapa kawasan melibatkan Segamat dan Mersing turut sama terjejas dengan ribut petir pagi ini.
Sementara itu di Sabah, keadaan yang sama dijangka berlaku di Pedalaman (Kuala Penyu dan Beaufort) dan Pantai Barat (Papar) manakala di Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan melibatkan keseluruhan kawasan. – KOSMO! ONLINE
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order establishing a review council for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just days after he floated shuttering the agency whose resources are strained following multiple weather-related disasters and which is burdened by past failures in handling massive storms.
Last Friday, the Republican president floated the idea of shuttering FEMA during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, hit by a hurricane and massive wildfires.
WHAT IS FEMA? The federal agency's mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to stricken areas.
Its reputation was battered by its poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the agency has struggled to recover. Trump criticized FEMA on the campaign trail and since taking office on Monday. FEMA has a workforce of 20,000 people that can swell to more than 50,000 active members during major disasters, according to its website. It has 10 regional offices and the capacity to coordinate resources from across the federal government. Officially created in 1979, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2004.
TRUMP CRITICISM
Trump has accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts in North Carolina and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves. During a visit Friday, he said the agency should be fundamentally reformed or even scrapped.
"FEMA has turned out to be a disaster," he said during a tour of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by September's Hurricane Helene. "I think we recommend that FEMA go away."
Trump also criticized California's response to recent wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, but he pledged during a visit to work with California Governor Gavin Newsom and offered help to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
FEMA STAFFING FEMA says it is currently supporting 108 major disasters and 10 emergency declarations. According to its daily operations briefing, 17% of its disaster-response workforce is available.
After Trump said he wanted to overhaul or scrap FEMA, the agency's acting head Cam Hamilton wrote to staff and assured them that "FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security." Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL Trump appointed to temporarily lead the agency after the Republican president took office last week.
FEMA FUNDING
Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events boosted demand for its services. The agency received $29 billion from Congress in December to fund ongoing relief efforts.
A FEMA spokesperson told Reuters last week the agency has not received additional funding to reimburse states for ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina and the U.S. Southeast in late September.
There has been no presidential action or congressional appropriation under the current Trump administration to provide additional funds to FEMA for hurricane recovery efforts, and no credible reports of such funding.
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN While responding to real-life disasters, FEMA has also battled a slew of false rumors about how its funds have been used. Before his re-election, Trump and his Republican allies accused former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, of using federal emergency money to help people who were in the country illegally. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went as far as to say government officials control the weather.
FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website to tamp them down. One entry addresses the accusation that FEMA diverted funs to the border.
"This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster-response needs. FEMA’s disaster-response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts." FEMA FAILURES The agency has been criticized for emergency responses to hurricanes that fell short, including Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Residents accused then-President Trump of being slow to dispatch aid after Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the U.S. territory had been devastated. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and flooded parts of the city as residents crowded into ill-prepared shelters. Katrina devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast and caused more than 1,800 deaths. It also shattered the reputation of FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its response.
(Writing by Doina Chiacu, Editing by David Gregorio)
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has arrested 15 people as part of an investigation into a fire that killed 78 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in the Bolu mountains earlier this week, state media reported on Sunday.
The tragedy has sparked calls for accountability and reform, and independent experts have said the Grand Kartal Hotel, at the Kartalkaya ski resort in western Turkey, lacked basic fire safety measures.
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey's judiciary was working to punish all those responsible for the incident. The hotel's management has pledged full cooperation.
On Sunday, Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency said the hotel's owner, manager, director, and 12 others were arrested as part of the probe. It said judicial proceedings continued for the deputy mayor of the Bolu province and the head of the local fire department, while six others were released under certain conditions.
The blaze started in the restaurant floor of the 12-storey building, which had 238 registered guests, at around 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Tuesday. It forced panicked hotel guests to jump from windows in the middle of the night.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)