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PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
KUANTAN: Kebakaran kawasan ladang kelapa di belakang Taman Perindustrian Malaysia-China Kuantan (MCKIP) Gebeng di sini sejak 22 Februari lalu, meningkat kepada 130 hektar hari ini.
Pengarah Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Pahang, Mohd Razam Taja Rahim berkata, kebakaran kembali merebak sejak kelmarin, susulan daripada angin kencang dan cuaca panas di kawasan terbabit.
Katanya, ketiadaan hujan di kawasan terbabit menambah lagi kesukaran dalam operasi pemadaman yang turut membabitkan pengeboman air yang dilakukan dengan menggunakan sebuah helikopter.
"Sebenarnya, kebakaran sudah terkawal dan hampir padam Jumaat lalu namun angin kencang pada Sabtu dan kelmarin menyebabkan kebakaran kembali merebak.
"Setakat ini, seluas 91.9 hektar berjaya dipadamkan manakala baki 78.6 hektar sedang diusahakan.
"Pada masa sama, kita menangguhkan operasi pemadaman pada waktu malam untuk mengelakkan risiko kemalangan.
"Alhamdulillah setakat ini tiada kemalangan membabitkan anggota bomba dan kita mendapat kerjasama penuh daripada kerajaan negeri, Pejabat Daerah Kuantan, Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS), Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) dan Pengurusan Air Pahang Berhad (PAIP)," katanya ditemui media di lokasi kebakaran.
Beliau berkata, lebih 70 anggota daripada 11 Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) di zon satu terbabit dalam operasi pemadaman.
Katanya, jika keadaan memerlukan, jumlah anggota bomba akan ditambah termasuk mendapatkan bantuan daripada anggota negeri berhampiran.
"Susulan kebakaran ini, saya menasihati masyarakat supaya tidak melakukan kebakaran terbuka atau aktiviti yang boleh menyebabkan risiko kebakaran pada musim panas ini," katanya.
KUANTAN: Haze has blanketed the state capital, Kuantan, and surrounding areas today, caused by a massive fire that has been raging through a coconut plantation for nearly two weeks.
The tall structures in the state capital, including Menara Kuantan 188 and the Kuantan City Council complex facing Sungai Kuantan, were barely visible at noon today.
Nonetheless, daily life in the busy state capital was not affected, with businesses operating as usual. The air quality remains at a moderate level.
Meanwhile, a food stall operator, who wanted to be known as Lim Chuen, told NST that he fears the situation could worsen in the coming days amid the hot and dry weather.
The trader said he had experienced the haze in previous years, which forced him and his workers to wear face masks while manning the stall.
"I hope it rains and the air quality improves," he added.
Although the air pollutant index (API) reading in Balok Baru, where the fire broke out on Feb 22, has shown improvement, the winds are carrying the thick smoke towards the town centre.
Pahang Department of Environment director Wandi Yadzid Yaakob said the current wind direction has brought the smoke from the peat fires in Balok Baru to other parts of Kuantan.
Balok Baru is situated along the coast, to the northeast of the state capital, Kuantan.
The region is also home to plantations, including coconut plantations, and is near popular coastal destinations such as Balok Beach.
Meanwhile, a health department spokesman said members of the public especially those with respiratory conditions are advised to wear face masks when leaving their homes and those feeling unwell should seek immediate medical treatment.
API readings are categorised as good between zero to 50; between 51 and 100 (moderate); between 101 and 200 (unhealthy); between 201 and 300 (very unhealthy); and above 301 (hazardous).
Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, yesterday expressed concerns over the huge fire and urged all outdoor activities to be suspended.
The peat soil fire has affected some 130ha with firemen still fighting to put out the blaze.
Environmentalists in Malaysia have raised significant concerns about the impacts of climate change on the nation's environment.
They warn that rising sea levels and temperatures are leading to more frequent floods, food and water shortages, increased water pollution, and more intense heatwaves.
In response to these challenges, Malaysia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability has updated the National Climate Change Policy, aiming for a 45 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
ISKANDAR PUTERI – Sistem perparitan lama yang tidak lagi mampu menampung aliran air dipercayai menjadi punca utama banjir kilat yang melanda beberapa kawasan di Skudai pada petang Selasa susulan hujan lebat.
Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Skudai, Marina Ibrahim berkata, isu banjir kilat terbabit telah berulang kali dibangkitkan dalam mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Tindakan Pembangunan Daerah (JTPD) dan sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN).
Jelasnya, kawasan yang terjejas ialah Jalan Zapin 3, Jalan Ronggeng 4, Jalan Jelawat, Jalan Baung, Jalan Kilang Nanas, Kampung Poh Chee Leng, Syahbandar, SK, dan Jalan Laksamana.
“Kami telah melakukan lawatan tapak bersama pelbagai agensi. Penduduk tidak seharusnya menerima alasan bahawa ini hanya disebabkan oleh jumlah hujan yang tinggi.
“Ini bukan kali pertama atau kedua, tetapi berkali-kali dalam setahun penduduk terpaksa menghadapi masalah yang sama,” katanya ketika dihubungi pada Rabu.
Menurut Marina masalah utama berpunca daripada sistem perparitan lama yang berusia 30 hingga 40 tahun, tidak mampu menampung aliran air yang semakin meningkat.
“Saliran utama di Skudai tidak cukup besar untuk menampung jumlah air yang tinggi. Contohnya di Jalan Jelawat, terdapat satu paip besar dalam longkang yang menghalang aliran air.
"Saya telah menghantar surat agar satu sesi townhall dapat dilakukan seterusnya memberi penjelasan kepada penduduk mengenai perancangan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT)," katanya.
Dalam pada itu, penduduk di Jalan Zapin merayu tindakan segera daripada pihak berkuasa untuk menangani masalah banjir yang semakin kerap melanda kawasan mereka sejak setahun kebelakangan ini.
Menurut seorang penduduk yang dikenali sebagai Dewi rumahnya yang berusia hampir 40 tahun jarang dinaiki air sebelum ini, namun dalam tempoh setahun, kejadian banjir sudah berlaku sebanyak dua kali.
Beberapa video tular di media sosial memaparkan keadaan banjir kilat di sekitar Skudai, dengan arus deras sehingga menyebabkan rumah penduduk dinaiki air serta kesesakan lalu lintas.
"Air sangat laju, sudah seperti sungai," kata seorang pengguna jalan raya yang berkongsi pengalaman mereka ketika kejadian.
OFUNATO: Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century on Wednesday in a region hit by record-low rainfall, as wet weather gave hope for some relief.
The blaze around the northern city of Ofunato in the Iwate region has raged for more than a week, killing one person and forcing nearly 4,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
It has engulfed about 2,900 hectares (7,170 acres) -- around half the size of Manhattan -- making it the largest wildfire since at least 1975, when 2,700 hectares burnt in Hokkaido.
“The fire was like nothing I’ve seen before. It was towering and spreading fast,“ said Mitsuo Otsubo, 85, who fled his home to stay with a relative.
“It didn’t rain or snow at all this year... Thank goodness it rained today though. I can only hope it will help contain the situation,“ the seaweed and scallop farmer told AFP.
An 86-year-old woman, who declined to be identified, said she had seen “a huge amount of smoke rising up and then the fire”.
“The wind was really strong and I was so stunned that my pulse became erratic,“ she said.
Columns of white smoke billowed from a mountain through the rain and snow on Wednesday, AFP reporters saw. More wet weather was forecast through Thursday.
“Firefighters have been working on the ground through the night,“ a city official told AFP on Wednesday. “We are hoping that snow, which started to fall this morning, will help,“ he said.
Hot soak
At least 84 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency.
Almost 4,000 people had complied with orders to evacuate by late Tuesday. The owner of an “onsen” hot spring inn voluntarily opened his facility for free to evacuees.
“Not being able to bathe yourself on top of dealing with the chaos of life in a shelter definitely wears you down,“ 60-year-old Toyoshige Shida, of Ofunato Onsen, told AFP.
He said he built the inn after seeing how people suffered in the wake of a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that killed at least 340 people in Ofunato alone.
Dry weather
Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide. The number of wildfires in the country has declined since its 1970s peak.
However, there were about 1,300 in 2023, concentrated in the period from February to April when the air dries out and winds pick up.
Ofunato received just 2.5 millimetres (0.1 inches) of rainfall in February -- breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimetres in 1967 and well below the average of 41 millimetres.
Greg Mullins, formerly fire and rescue commissioner for the Australian state of New South Wales, told AFP that the Japan fire and the recent Los Angeles wildfires were “highly unusual” because they were in winter.
“In both cases the fires were preceded by hot summers, which increased evaporation and drying of vegetation, followed by large rainfall deficits that parched the landscape,“ he said.
“This is a common by-product of climate change that is being seen worldwide,“ said Mullins, a founder of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group.
“As the planet warms further we can expect to see fires in places where they have never before been a problem.”
'High hopes'
Around 2,000 firefighters, most deployed from other parts of Japan, including Tokyo, have been working from the air and on the ground.
“The fact that teams of firefighters are being reinforced every day, and that the fire has been going on for a week, shows the extent of the dry weather and the difficulties we are facing,“ Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami told reporters.
The topography of the mountainous coastal area, with steep slopes and narrow and winding roads, was hampering the fire-fighting operation.
Japanese baseball prodigy Roki Sasaki, who recently joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, has offered a 10-million-yen ($67,000) donation and 500 sets of bedding.
Sasaki attended high school in Ofunato after losing his father and grandparents in the 2011 tsunami.
Ribut pasir landa selatan New Mexico
- Admin UKK
- Berita
AMERIKA SYARIKAT: Ribut pasir melanda selatan New Mexico pada Isnin, menyebabkan banyak kenderaan terkandas dan beberapa kemalangan berlaku. Menurut laporan media tempatan, pasukan kecemasan telah dikerahkan ke beberapa lokasi nahas apabila jarak penglihatan turun hampir ke sifar.
Rakaman saksi yang dikongsi di media sosial menunjukkan kenderaan terkandas, termasuk sekurang-kurangnya sebuah yang mengalami kerosakan akibat perlanggaran.
Reuters berjaya mengesahkan lokasi dan tarikh rakaman tersebut berdasarkan laporan kerajaan serta media tempatan mengenai keadaan cuaca di kawasan itu.
Menurut Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan AS, keadaan kering yang berpanjangan berserta angin kencang telah menyebabkan sejumlah besar debu berterbangan merentasi rantau tersebut. – REUTERS