OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
BANGKOK: Aid groups in the worst-hit areas of Myanmar said there was an urgent need for shelter, food and water after a quake which killed more than 2,700 people, including 50 preschoolers, but said the civil war could prevent help reaching those in need.
Chinese television reported the death toll reached 2,719 on Tuesday, with more than 4,500 injured, citing Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing, who said fatalities could top 3,000.
The death toll is more than 600 higher than the figure reported by Myanmar state media.
The 7.7 magnitude quake, which hit around lunchtime on Friday, was the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike.
In neighbouring Thailand, rescuers pressed on searching for life in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper in the capital Bangkok, but acknowledged time was against them.
In Myanmar's Mandalay area, 50 children and two teachers were killed when their preschool collapsed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
“In the hardest-hit areas ...communities struggle to meet their basic needs, such as access to clean water and sanitation, while emergency teams work tirelessly to locate survivors and provide life-saving aid,“ the UN body said in a report.
The International Rescue Committee said shelter, food, water and medical help were all needed in places such as Mandalay, near the epicentre of the quake.
“Having lived through the terror of the earthquake, people now fear aftershocks and are sleeping outside on roads or in open fields,“ an IRC worker in Mandalay said in a report.
The civil war in Myanmar, where the junta seized power in a coup in 2021, has complicated efforts to reach those injured and made homeless by the Southeast Asian nation's biggest quake in a century.
Amnesty International said the junta needed to allow aid to reach areas of the country not under its control. Rebel groups say the junta has conducted airstrikes after the quake.
“Myanmar‘s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,“ Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said.
“It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.”
The junta's tight control over communication networks and the damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure caused by the quakes have intensified the challenges for aid workers.
Thai officials said a meeting of regional leaders in Bangkok later this week would go ahead as planned, although junta leader Min Aung Hlaing may attend by teleconference.
Before the quake struck, sources said the junta chief had been expected to make a rare foreign trip to attend the summit in Bangkok on April 3-4.
Hopes dim at collapsed building
In Bangkok, rescuers were still scouring the ruins of an unfinished skyscraper that collapsed for any signs of life, but aware that as four days had passed since the quake, the odds of finding survivors lengthened.
“There are about 70 bodies underneath ... and we hope by some miracle one or two are still alive,“ volunteer rescue leader Bin Bunluerit said at the building site.
Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said six human-shaped figures had been detected by scanners, but there was no movement or vital signs. Local and international experts were now working out how to safely reach them, she said.
KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): A devastating fire involving a Petronas gas pipeline at Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor this morning, led to the rescue of 112 individuals, with 63 of them being hospitalised.
Selangor deputy police chief DCP Mohd Zaini Abu Hassan confirmed that the rescued and injured victims were residents of Taman Harmoni and Kampung Kuala Sungai Baharu.
He said that in addition to the 63 victims sent to Cyberjaya, Serdang, and Putrajaya Hospitals for further treatment, due to burns, respiratory issues, and wounds, another 49 victims received initial treatment at the Sri Maha Kaliamman temple in Subang Jaya.
So far, four places of worship – three mosques and one temple – have been converted into temporary shelters and treatment centres for the victims.
The mosques are the Putra Heights Mosque and the Nurul Iman Mosque, which were converted into temporary evacuation centres, as well as the Al-Falah Mosque in USJ 9, which was also offered by its management to be used as a shelter for the victims.
The Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple has also been utilised as a temporary shelter and treatment centre for the affected victims.
All four houses of worship are situated within a five-kilometre radius of Jalan Putra Harmoni, the site of the fire, which was caused by a leak in a Petronas gas pipeline.
Mohd Zaini, at the same press conference, said that the fire, which broke out at 8.10am, also impacted 49 homes in the surrounding area.
Videos, shared on social media by members of the public, depict the fire spreading to several nearby residential units, causing extensive property damage, including the destruction of dozens of cars and motorcycles.
As of 1pm, a total of 78 firefighters, supported by 22 assets, were at the scene. These assets include 10 Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) engines, four Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) units, five Water Tanker units, and specialised units, such as a Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) team, a BA Tanker unit, and an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) unit.
The operation involved personnel from the Subang Jaya, Puchong, Shah Alam, Bukit Jelutong, Cyberjaya, Rawang, South Klang, North Klang, and Damansara Fire and Rescue Stations.
Additionally, the Civil Defence Force (APM) deployed personnel from Petaling and Sepang, to assist with response efforts.
As of 1.55pm, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said that the fire from the leaking gas pipeline was subsiding.
He added that Bomba is continuing to monitor the situation. – Bernama
CYBERJAYA: Beberapa mangsa insiden kebocoran saluran paip gas di Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor, telah dihantar ke Hospital Cyberjaya untuk mendapatkan rawatan.
Selain itu, terdapat juga mangsa yang menerima rawatan di Hospital Putrajaya, Hospital Serdang serta Hospital Ampang.
Kesemua mangsa mengalami pelbagai tahap kecederaan dan masih dalam pemantauan pasukan perubatan.
Sebelum ini, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Selangor melaporkan, kebanyakan mangsa mengalami kecederaan, termasuk luka di bahagian kaki dan sesak nafas akibat kejadian itu.
Pihak Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM) dijangka akan mengeluarkan kenyataan rasmi dalam masa terdekat mengenai keadaan mangsa serta perkembangan lanjut berkaitan insiden berkenaan.
KUALA LUMPUR – Ahli Parlimen Kota Raja, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu menggesa siasatan terperinci dan telus dijalankan terhadap punca kejadian kebakaran paip gas di Putra Heights, semalam.
Beliau yang juga Menteri Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan berkata, langkah-langkah keselamatan juga perlu dipastikan diperketatkan bagi mengelakkan tragedi serupa daripada berulang.
Dalam masa sama, beliau menyeru semua pihak agar terus bertenang, mematuhi arahan keselamatan dan sentiasa menjaga kebajikan sesama jiran dalam menghadapi musibah tersebut.
“Semoga mangsa-mangsa yang sedang dirawat segera diberi kesembuhan, dan kita semua diberi kekuatan untuk bangkit bersama,” katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.
Menurut Mohamad, beliau semalam turut mengarahkan kakitangan Parlimen Kota Raja untuk turun padang mendapatkan maklumat berhubung kejadian itu dan bekerjasama dengan agensi kerajaan lain dalam memberikan bantuan awal kepada mangsa yang terlibat.
Pagi ini juga, tambahnya, beliau telah menghubungi pihak berkuasa dan wakil-wakil agensi berkaitan bagi mendapatkan maklumat terperinci.
“Saya juga ingin merakamkan ucapan terima kasih dan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan kepada rakan-rakan Ahli Parlimen yang berjiran dengan kawasan Kota Raja yang turut sama turun padang, serta semua agensi kerajaan khususnya bomba, polis, petugas perubatan, dan pihak berkuasa tempatan yang telah bertindak pantas menyelamatkan mangsa dan mengawal keadaan daripada menjadi lebih parah,” katanya.
Dalam kejadian kebakaran paip gas yang berlaku di Putra Heights, Puchong semalam, seramai 305 penduduk dilaporkan menjadi mangsa dengan 190 buah rumah dan 148 kenderaan terjejas. – MalaysiaGazette
PM: Homeowners to be compensated; restoration and fixing of affected areas to be borne by federal, state govt and Petronas
- Admin UKK
- Berita
PETALING JAYA, April 1 — Compensation for residents in residential areas affected by the gas line fire incident at Putra Heights will be borne by the government and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made the assurance after a briefing by authorities during a site visit at Jalan Putra Harmoni here.
“The responsibility of restoring, fixing and replacing the affected residential areas, we (federal government, state government and Petronas) will take full responsibility.
“With that, please do not worry, but it will take time,” he told reporters after a site visit here.
Anwar also said Petronas and if needed the federal government, will immediately provide a payment of RM5,000 to owners whose houses were completely damaged for temporary lodging expenses.
Anwar also said Petronas and if needed the federal government, will immediately provide a payment of RM5,000 to owners whose houses were completely damaged for temporary lodging expenses.
Anwar added that the federal government’s main priority was to ensure the safety of everyone involved, noting that rebuilding process of damaged homes might take up to a year or more.
He said preliminary discussions with the Housing and Local Government ministry, state government and Petronas have indicated that their houses will not be restored in a short time.
“Determining the cause requires a little time with a thorough investigation. “So our utmost priority now is safety and so far, this seems to be under control.
“That’s why I chose to visit there myself to prove that it is safe,” he said. He said the government’s next step is to hold a discussion with the various residential associations for suggestions on the way forward.
For the time being, Anwar said residents whose houses were affected are still not allowed to return home but assured that all government machinery will be mobilised for the clean-up effort.
“So right now, Petronas and the government team are discussing how we can take temporary but reasonable action,” Anwar said.