Bertahun menghadapi banjir dan menanggung banyak kerugian menyebabkan pasangan warga emas ini membina rakit di dalam rumah mereka di Kampung Pengkalan Ajal, di sini.

Ia bagi menyelamatkan pelbagai barang dan perkakas rumah yang mudah rosak jika ditenggelami air.

Menurut Zainun Abdullah, 65, kediaman mereka terletak berhampiran sungai boleh ditenggelami air sehingga lima meter setiap kali musim tengkujuh.

Katanya, disebabkan itu dia dan suami, Mohd Sulong, 73, membina rakit di dalam rumah sejak empat tahun lalu.

“Sebelum ini, kami bina rumah rakit di luar untuk meletakkan barangan termasuk motosikal yang akan dipindahkan sebelum banjir, dan rakit itu perlu diangkat untuk diletakkan di dalam rumah.

“Namun, memandangkan suami kurang sihat sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini dan saya tidak larat untuk angkut barang dari atas rumah ke rakit di luar, jadi timbul idea bina rakit di dalam rumah.

“Ada dua rakit dibuat, satu untuk meletak barangan berat seperti peti sejuk dan mesin basuh, manakala satu lagi untuk meletakkan barang dapur dan bahan keperluan harian seperti beras, tepung, minyak, gula dan bahan masakan dan pakaian,” katanya.

Menurutnya, rakit itu berukuran 1.5 meter lebar dan 2.5 meter panjang dengan bahagian bawah diapungkan dengan sembilan tong plastik kecil yang dilekatkan dengan paku dan tali.

The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department will deploy drones to help monitor floods in Terengganu during this northeast monsoon season.

Its air division director Datuk Norazam Khamis said two drone units will be based at the department’s forward operations base at the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Academy Eastern Region, Wakaf Tapai here.

He said the technology can be used to monitor flood developments from the air, especially in rural areas and locations near rivers within a 16km distance.

“We will deploy drones to assist the state in ground monitoring if the rain continues.

“It is more suitable to monitor using drones,” he said after conducting aerial monitoring using the AW189 helicopter in the flood-affected areas yesterday, Bernama reported.

“We will send two drones from the state Fire Department, while the Terengganu government also has two drones. Each unit will be operated by two certified personnel with the expertise.”

Norazam said the department will also add helicopter facilities at the base if the need arises for rescue operations, to deliver food and necessities and provide medical services.

A total of 58 members of the Rapid Action Team (Red Team) are also fully prepared to be deployed at any time in case of a disaster.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department (Metmalaysia) has issued a warning of dangerous levels of continuous heavy rain in several areas in Terengganu and Pahang until Friday.

The public can get the latest weather information via the department’s official website, mycuaca mobile application and its official social media pages, as well as the Metmalaysia hotline at 1300-22-1638 for further enquiries.

JOHOR BARU: With close to 400 volunteers on standby, the Johor Crisis Relief Squad of MCA (CRSM) is ready to respond with manpower and basic supplies should the ongoing northeast monsoon cause floods in the state.

Johor CRSM chief Tai Chee How said the organisation has a team in each of the state’s 26 divisions.

“We have divided and coordinated the teams according to the state’s northern, central and southern zones to ensure quick mobilisation when disaster strikes.

“Each team also has committees responsible for frontline assistance, disaster relief, medical requirements, emergency supplies, Gocare charity fundraising platform and publicity,” he said when interviewed.

Tai added that all the teams have been reminded to check their assets and supplies to ensure that they are in good condition to prevent hiccups during disaster relief work.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (Metmalaysia) forecasted that the monsoon surge, currently causing continuous heavy rain in the southern and eastern regions of Peninsular Malaysia, is expected to continue until early December.

Metmalaysia director-general Datuk Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip reportedly said weather forecast analysis indicates that the monsoon surge is likely to intensify today and Dec 1, potentially leading to very heavy and prolonged rainfall in eastern parts of the peninsula.

Tai added that early preparations and monitoring were carried out by Johor CRSM given the frequent downpours in the state recently.

“However, our team is not limited to disaster relief in Johor. If other states need flood assistance, we will send our volunteers there to provide support.

“Our volunteers come from various ages and have some form of disaster relief training and experience. Every one of them has also been assigned tasks respectively to move seamlessly as a team,” he added.

Tai urged more volunteers, including non-party members, to sign up with Johor CRSM so that they could stand by to assist more people.

He also reminded volunteers to keep a close watch on the water levels and familiarise themselves with the traffic routes in floodprone areas.

“During the floods in Chaah last year, volunteers in the northern zone relied on local traffic information to navigate the roads to reach flood victims,” he added.

For more information and to sign up as a volunteer, contact Tai at 012-737 7927.

PUTRAJAYA: Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT) mengingatkan institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) serta pelajarnya untuk mengambil langkah waspada ketika melakukan aktiviti luar sepanjang musim Monsun Timur Laut (MTL).

Menterinya, Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir berkata perkara itu bagi memastikan langkah berjaga-jaga diambil untuk menjamin keselamatan pihak berkenaan.

“Saya ingin mengingatkan kita semualah sebab kalau musim-musim terkujuh yang akan datang ini, khususnya yang terletak di kawasan Pantai Timur, langkah-langkah perlu hendaklah dibuat khususnya di peringkat IPT termasuk politeknik dan kolej komuniti.

“Selain daripada langkah-langkah yang akan dibuat oleh pihak institusi yang berkenaan, kita juga menyarankan, menasihatkan kepada pelajar-pelajar supaya mengambil langkah-langkah perlu.

“Jadi dengan pendekatan ini, maknanya mereka sendiri pun turut mengambil langkah-langkah (waspada) ini,” katanya ketika ditemui media selepas meninjau persiapan akhir Festival Idea Putrajaya (FOI) di Pusat Konvensyen Antarabangsa Putrajaya (PICC) di sini hari ini.

Program yang julung kali diadakan selama tiga hari bermula esok itu dijangka menarik lebih 250,000 pengunjung dengan pelbagai pengisian program menarik.

Untuk rekod, Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia dalam laporan media sebelum ini meramalkan Monsun Timur Laut (MTL) bermula awal November dan berakhir pada hujung Mac 2025 yang menjangkakan episod hujan lebat berlaku di negeri Pantai Timur, Sabah dan Sarawak.