Sebanyak 48 rumah rosak dalam dua kejadian ribut di Perlis, manakala kejadian ribut di Kedah menyebabkan sekurang-kurangnya tujuh rumah dilaporkan rosak.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu Perlis (MAIPS), Mohd Nazim Mohd Noor, berkata berdasarkan angka yang dikemas kini pihaknya dari semasa ke semasa itu, sebanyak 37 rumah rosak dalam kejadian pagi semalam, manakala 11 rumah terjejas pada Jumaat lalu.

“Kebanyakan rumah itu rosak pada bahagian bumbung akibat diterbangkan angin. Kejadian hari ini (semalam) membabitkan kawasan Kariah Behor Mentaloon, Kariah Chemumar, Kariah Tambun Tulang, Kariah Batu 5, Kariah Mata Air, Kariah Sungai Padang dan Kariah Oran masing-masing dua rumah.

“Sementara Kariah Bunga Emas, Kariah Padang Besar Kurung Anai, Kariah Pauh Sanglang, Kariah Kampung Chantik, Kariah Guar Syed Alwi, Kariah Sungai Berembang, Kariah Tok

Kaya dan Kariah Mengkuang Layar masing-masing sebuah rumah dan Kariah Longboh (tiga rumah).

“Kejadian Jumaat lalu pula membabitkan kawasan Kariah Guar Syed Alwi yang membabitkan tiga rumah rosak, manakala Kariah Sungai Batu Pahat, Kariah Sungai Berembang, Kariah Jelempok, Kariah Titi Beratap, Kariah Kampung Sena, Kariah Oran, Kariah Behor Mempelam dan Kariah Sungai Padang masing-masing sebuah rumah terjejas,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, semalam.

Mohd Nazim berkata, kerosakan kecil akan diberikan bantuan oleh Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM), manakala kerosakan besar akan dirujuk JKM untuk membolehkan MAIPS menyalurkan bantuan.

“Bagi kerosakan perniagaan dikehendaki melaporkannya kepada Majlis Perbandaran Kangar (MPK),” katanya.

Difahamkan kejadian ribut pada Jumaat lalu berlaku kira-kira jam 7 pagi, manakala kejadian semalam terjadi kira-kira jam 2 pagi.

Beberapa kawasan terjejas

Sementara itu di Kubang Pasu, angin kencang berserta hujan lebat menyebabkan sekurang-kurangnya tujuh rumah rosak, selain kejadian pokok tumbang di beberapa kawasan, awal pagi semalam.

Pegawai Pertahanan Awam (APM) Daerah Kubang Pasu, Kapten (PA) Mohd Adenin Suhaimi, berkata kejadian jam 2.05 pagi itu membabitkan beberapa kawasan termasuk Kampung Kota

Si Puteh, Kampung Kandis, Kampung Pida 2, Kampung Malau, Kampung Teluk Malik, Kampung Changkat Setoi, RTC Napoh, kawasan Pida, Guar Napai, Kampung Macang Manis dan Kodiang.

Katanya, anggota APM Kubang

Pasu turut dihantar ke lokasi kejadian bagi pemantauan dan operasi pemotongan pokok tumbang serta membersih di kawasan berkenaan.

“Kejadian ribut itu berlaku dalam tempoh 35 minit hingga menyebabkan beberapa rumah terbabit terjejas dan ditimpa pokok. Selain itu, terdapat juga pokok tumbang yang menghalang lalu lintas.

“Bagaimanapun tiada kemalangan jiwa atau kecederaan dilaporkan dalam kejadian itu setakat ini,” katanya semalam.

Meletupkan atau memecahkan batu hamparan berhampiran Rumah Pam Kemubu, Kota Bharu di Kelantan bagi proses penjajaran untuk meningkatkan paras air, menjadi antara beberapa penyelesaian jangka pendek mengatasi masalah air akibat kemarau.

Batu hamparan ialah batu besar yang rata, lebar dan berada di dasar sungai yang menghalang air sungai masuk ke kawasan pam.

Proses memecahkan batu hamparan di laluan air masuk kawasan pam membolehkan air Sungai Kelantan tetap mengalir walaupun berada pada paras yang rendah.

Difahamkan, terdapat batu hamparan berukuran tiga meter (m) dari dasar sungai yang terletak di kawasan laluan air masuk kawasan pam, sekali gus mengehadkan operasi kemudahan berkenaan.

Menteri Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, berkata inisiatif itu akan dibuat jika operasi pembenihan awan selama tiga hari mulai kelmarin, di tujuh lokaliti di Kelantan, tidak berhasil.

Beliau berkata, proses berkenaan bagi memberi laluan kepada proses penjajaran air ke pam Kemubu dengan harapan pembenihan awan boleh menghasilkan hujan pada masa terdekat, sekali gus meningkatkan paras air di kawasan pam bagi operasi sedia ada di Pam Kemubu I dan II.

Pasang telaga tiub

Selain itu, katanya, telaga tiub akan dipasang di 280 lokasi dikenal pasti di sekitar kawasan Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian Kemubu (KADA) sebagai alternatif mengatasi musim kemarau di Kelantan.

“Beberapa (telaga tiub) sudah dibuat dalam masa terdekat dan (operasi) antara dua atau tiga telahpun dilaksanakan.

“Kita lihat di telaga tiub itu ada air yang boleh digunakan, selain perlu melihat perkembangan semasa antara dua hingga tiga hari lagi.

“Seterusnya, kita melihat kepada shift piles atau pelaksanaan beberapa jajaran di Sungai Kelantan dengan (proses ini memerlukan) kebenaran kerajaan negeri. Ia akan menjadi antara pelan jangka pendek dan sederhana yang boleh dilaksanakan.

“Bagi penyelesaian jangka panjang, kami akan mencadangkan (pembinaan) Ampang Jajar di kawasan Sungai Kelantan dengan perincian bakal dikemukakan pada Rancangan Malaysia Ke-13 (RMK13),” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media sebelum menyertai OPA di tujuh lokaliti di Kelantan menggunakan Kapal Pengangkut C130H di Pangkalan Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM) Subang, di sini semalam.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Rabu lalu, dilaporkan berkata kerajaan bersetuju melaksanakan pembenihan awan di Kelantan susulan permohonan KADA bagi menangani impak cuaca panas serta Monsun Barat Daya yang dijangka berterusan sehingga hujung September.

Justeru, beliau yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Pusat berkata, dana RM5 juta daripada Tabung Kumpulan

Wang Amanah Bantuan Bencana Negara digunakan bagi menjayakan operasi pembenihan awan berkenaan.

Taburan hujan rendah dicatatkan bermula Februari hingga April lalu, menyumbang kepada penyusutan paras air Sungai Kelantan serta mengganggu operasi pam di seluruh kawasan KADA.

Bagi membolehkan Rumah Pam Kemubu beroperasi sepenuhnya, Sungai Kelantan perlu mencapai aras air pada ketinggian 4.9m, namun parasnya pada bacaan terendah iaitu 2.19m pada minggu kedua April lalu seperti direkodkan KADA.

Sementara itu, Mohamad berkata, negara akan berdepan kekurangan kira-kira empat peratus

daripada keseluruhan jumlah pengeluaran beras, jika proses penanaman padi sekitar Kelantan gagal dibuat ekoran musim kemarau berpanjangan.

Selain itu, katanya, proses penanaman padi di beberapa negeri lain setakat ini belum berada di tahap mencemaskan dengan taburan hujan direkodkan pada kadar positif di beberapa kawasan di seluruh negara.

“Semalam hujan lebat di Bagan Serai, Perak dan saya berada di sekitar sana ketika itu.

“Memang berlaku catuan air di Bukit Merah, Perak ketika ini tetapi dengan hujan lebat dua malam berturut-turut, kita harap ia mampu meningkatkan paras air,” katanya.

Two of the country’s largest rice producers, Kedah and Kelantan, have been hit by progressively drier conditions, with farmers even forced to leave their fields unplanted. The authorities are taking measures to ensure that national rice production is not at risk.

PETALING JAYA: All is not well in Kelantan, as far as padi yield is concerned.

The state’s most severe drought in 30 years will see a reduction of 40,000 tonnes of padi in the first season, with losses estimated at Rm58mil.

This significant decline will impact the national rice production by 10% this season.

Kelantan is the second largest rice producer in Malaysia after Kedah.

“The extreme drought, unprecedented in the past three decades, has caused the water level in Sungai Kelantan to drop to its lowest level recently, reaching just 2.5m,” said Mohd Izzat Mohd Zubir, the special officer to the Kemubu Agricultural Development Authority (Kada) chairman.

He said the situation has affected the operation of the Kemubu 2 pump, with the water level too low for pumping.

“We need the level to rise to at least 3.5m. We must start planting by July 28 otherwise we will incur losses,” he told The Star.

Kelantan’s prolonged dry spell since the end of January led to three days of cloud seeding from June 21.

The operation was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi earlier last week.

He said he approved Rm5mil from the National Disaster Relief Trust Fund for the operation.

Mohd Izzat said over half of padi fields in Kelantan has yet to start planting, leading to a potential yield reduction of up to 30% this season.

He said the watering schedule this season has not started, with farmers in danger of missing the padi planting season if their farms could not be irrigated.

Kada, he said, has already been monitoring the water level since June 1.

“We are requesting the Federal Government to urgently approve Rm20mil to supply high-powered pumps at the Kemubu pump station to enable the drawing of water from deep below the river,” he said.

“The installation of the pumps will take about three to five months. This is a governmental effort.”

Mohd Izzat said Kelantan’s losses in the first season (November to June) has affected 3,890 out of 7,721 registered farmers, particularly in the northern and southern parts of Kota Baru who rely on the Kemubu pump station.

In March, Kada chairman Muhammad Hussin was quoted as saying that the agency was constructing tube wells at a cost of RM500,000 with funds from the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.

However, he said the project has been challenging due to a lack of accessible water sources in some areas, adding that the state also lacked the workforce to see it through.

Agriculture and Food Security Ministry’s padi industry development division director-general Datuk Azman Mahmood said the prolonged drought and adverse weather has impacted farmers’ incomes and rice production.

“The usual harvest reaches 90,000 metric tonnes, but this season it is only 50,000 metric tonnes,” he said when contacted.

He said the ministry has taken several steps to ensure the welfare of farmers as well as stabilise padi production.

Azman said farmers will receive government assistance of RM846 from the Padi Disaster Fund for the first 3ha if their crops are destroyed by drought for up to 71 days.

“Those facing crop damage exceeding 71 days will receive RM1,800 for the first 3ha under the same fund,” he said.

He said the government will introduce a padi crop insurance scheme managed by Agrobank, with higher and faster compensation to ease farmers’ losses in the future.

On Thursday, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu assured that rice supply is stable to meet the needs of Malaysians.

He said rice supply was stable throughout the recent Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration period.

“But we are constantly monitoring. If there is a shortage, we will immediately act,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

SUBANG JAYA: The cloud seeding operation (CSO) in Kelantan will focus on seven strategic localities as part of efforts to address the drop in water level in Sungai Kelantan and the prolonged drought affecting padi farmers there, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said the areas are Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Tanah Merah, Pasir Puteh, Dabong, Kemubu and Manek Urai.

He said the operation aims to increase the water level in Sungai Kelantan, which serves as the main irrigation source for the Kemubu Agricultural Development Authority (Kada) padi cultivation areas.

“This operation is expected to enhance the irrigation system in the Kemubu area, which has been experiencing prolonged drought.

“It will directly benefit nearly 3,400 padi farmers operating in this area.

“The CSO is an interim measure to address the issue of water scarcity for rice cultivation.

“Various measures have been provided to farmers, including mobile pumps, booster pumps and tube well construction,” he said, Bernama reported.

Mohamad said this during a media briefing on the CSO in Kelantan before participating in the operation using a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) C-130H transport aircraft from the Subang Air Base here yesterday.

On the latest CSO developments, he said that on the first day last Friday, rainfall was successfully induced in the southern zone of Kelantan but on the second day (Saturday), the operation was found to be less effective as no cloud formation occurred.

Elaborating on the matter, Malaysian Meteorological Department (Metmalaysia) deputy director-general (operations) Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the formation of “towering cumulus” or cumulonimbus clouds is necessary for the cloud seeding process to produce heavy rainfall in a specific area.

“When these clouds begin to form and we seed them (spray with a mixture of salt and water), it will bring significant rainfall to the area.

“Typically, we prepare four tanks, each containing 200kg of salt and 1,500 litres of water, making a total of 6,000 litres of saltwater mixture prepared for this CSO,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said the country could face a shortfall of about 4% of its total rice production if the padi planting in Kelantan continues to be affected by the prolonged dry season.

Responding to questions about follow-up action if the three-day CSO proves less successful, he said the ministry would take short-term measures to address the issue.

Ministry secretary-general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali explained that blasting rock formations to improve water flow near the Kemubu Pump House in Kota Baru is one possible shortterm solution.

He added that tube wells will also be installed at 280 identified locations within Kada areas.