PUTRAJAYA - Kementerian Kemajuan Desa dan Wilayah (KKDW) akan menyediakan rumah baharu atau membaik pulih kediaman di kawasan desa yang terjejas akibat banjir kali ini, kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Beliau yang juga Menteri Kemajuan Desa dan Wilayah itu berkata, ia adalah antara usaha yang bakal digerakkan di peringkat kementerian bagi membantu mangsa banjir di seluruh negara.

"Saya mahu KKDW melalui setiap jabatan, agensi, dan anak syarikat untuk bersama-sama mengambil inisiatif yang sesuai serta menggerakkan usaha bagi membantu mangsa banjir,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis perhimpunan bulanan KKDW dan sambutan hari inovasi dan kualiti di sini hari ini.

Ahmad Zahid yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negara berkata, Tabung Derma Kilat Bantuan Banjir juga akan dilancarkan bagi menyediakan bantuan sama ada dalam bentuk kewangan atau barangan keperluan harian kepada mangsa.

Beliau berkata, kerajaan Madani kini memberikan tumpuan sepenuhnya, dan bersedia menghadapi sebarang kemungkinan banjir buruk.

Sementara itu, Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, kesiapsiagaan bagi menghadapi banjir gelombang kedua yang dijangka bermula 8 hingga 14 Disember ini telah dilaksanakan semua agensi di pelbagai peringkat, supaya tiada kejadian tidak diingini berlaku.

"Pahang dan Johor akan turut terlibat (banjir) dan kita harap jawatankuasa bencana negeri dan daerah bersiap siaga.Kesiapsiagaan perlu kita buat awal bagi mengelak kejadian tidak diingini,” katanya yang menyifatkan banjir kali ini teruk berbanding pada 2014.

Jumlah mangsa di negeri-negeri yang terjejas banjir pagi ini merekodkan penurunan kepada 65,899 orang berbanding 67,453 orang malam tadi.

Kelantan, Pahang dan Johor merekodkan sedikit peningkatan dari segi jumlah mangsa banjir manakala tiga negeri lagi iaitu Terengganu, Perak dan Kedah menurun sementara Melaka kekal. - Bernama

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim tells Parliament the ‘extraordinarily high rainfall’ was beyond expectations and the resulting deluge caused RM1 billion in damage. He says Phase 1 flood mitigation projects are on schedule and further work is being expedited.

THE unprecedented deluge at the end of November dumped more than six months of rainfall in just five days, causing severe flooding across Kelantan and Terengganu.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said between Nov 26 and 30, the rainfall recorded at the Drainage and Irrigation Department stations in Tanah Merah and Tumpat, for example, had exceeded 1,167mm of rain in just five days.

“According to the Meteorological Department, the reading (in Kelantan) was at 1,442mm, which is an extraordinarily high level of rainfall.

“In Terengganu, the department’s Besut station recorded 1,761mm of rain during the same period. Overall, the rainfall was at 1,349mm, which is far beyond expectations.

“The five-day rainfall total was more than six months’ worth of average rainfall,” Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat during the Prime Minister’s Question Time.

He was responding to Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat), who asked if the Disaster Risk Reduction policy would be accelerated to allow all major flood mitigation facilities to be expedited, including the East Coast Highway 3 project.

Anwar said for flood mitigation projects, Phase 1 covering Tumpat and part of Pasir Mas was 70 per cent complete, and was expected to be fully complete by early 2026.

Phase 2, covering Rantau Panjang and part of Pasir Mas, was being expedited and Phase 3 covering Tumpat, Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas and Jeli was four per cent complete.

“However, the Sungai Kelantan flood mitigation and river management project is nearly complete, in which Phase 1 covering Kota Baru, Tumpat, Tanah Merah, Machang and Kuala Krai is 98 per cent complete, and Phase 2 covering Kota Baru has just started this year and is four per cent complete.”

In Terengganu, he said, the flood mitigation scheme in Kemasik was 91.8 per cent completed and was expected to be fully operational by the end of January next year, whereas the Sungai Tepoh and Benggol Air Lilih schemes had just begun.

The three flood mitigation schemes in Terengganu include the Sungai Besut Phase 1, Gong Kiat and Guntung Luar schemes.

“The flood forecasting and warning programme is also quite advanced, and this flood prediction model system uses a hydrodynamic approach,” said Anwar.

“Flood simulations are generated by combining various inputs, including hydrological data from the programme’s telemetry stations and rainfall forecasts from MetMalaysia, which uses a numerical weather prediction model that incorporates satellite and radar technology.”

Meanwhile, the cost of damage caused by floods had reached RM1 billion, with the repair of schools, hospitals and roads being the priority.

“We are waiting for detailed information on the overall situation. Right now, it seems to have eased slightly in Kelantan and Terengganu, but it has worsened in Pahang, and it is forecasted that Johor will also be affected.

“I assure you that immediate needs, such as food, water and basic facilities, including repairing damaged roads, will be prioritised,” Anwar added.

He also confirmed that ongoing flood mitigation projects, including those in the east coast, were on schedule, despite being initially cancelled in 2022 for re-tendering.

Anwar said the decision was made after the Madani government took over, rejecting direct negotiations which were deemed to be based on “weak foundations”.

“To date, the projects are still on schedule, except for one in Terengganu, if I’m not mistaken. It has not been disrupted.

“We have records that through the tender process, we saved a significant amount of funds compared with what was originally allocated.”

Torrential rain caused by the annual northeast monsoon has led to severe flooding in several states, including Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.

Anwar said while technical and financial evaluations by the Finance Ministry must be adhered to, he assured that the process would not cause delays in the completion of the flood mitigation projects.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) regarding whether there was any evidence of misconduct in the tender process for the previously cancelled flood mitigation projects.

Anwar said the government had spent close to RM15 billion for flood mitigation projects throughout the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

“There is no country that can guarantee flooding won’t occur; even advanced nations like China, the United States and Europe can’t fully control it. But our efforts must remain strong.”

Additional measures, he said, included advanced monitoring systems for flood alerts and more effective mitigation projects.

Page 1 pic: Two women consoling each other in front of their homes destroyed by floods in Kampung Jubakar Pantai in Tumpat, Kelantan, yesterday.

Kuala Lumpur: Jumlah mangsa banjir berkurangan kepada 77,695 orang di tujuh negeri, setakat petang semalam.

Sehingga jam 3 petang portal Info Bencana Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) merekodkan semua mangsa terdiri daripada 23,459 keluarga yang masih berlindung di 274 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS.

Daripada jumlah itu, Kelantan masih merekodkan jumlah mangsa tertinggi dengan 46,681 daripada 14,836 keluarga yang ditempatkan di 101 PPS.

Di Terengganu, seramai 21,975 mangsa daripada 5,813 keluarga dari lapan daerah yang terjejas masih mendapatkan perlindungan di 101 PPS.

Sementara di Kedah, seramai 7,123 daripada 2,251 keluarga ditempatkan di 37 PPS, manakala hanya sebuah PPS masih beroperasi di Pahang bagi menempatkan empat mangsa daripada sebuah keluarga.

Johor pula mengaktifkan 22 PPS di dua daerah bagi memberi perlindungan kepada 1,096 orang daripada 312 keluarga, sementara Perak menempatkan 644 orang daripada 202 keluarga di 10 PPS.

Selain itu, dua PPS di Melaka masih dibuka bagi menempatkan 172 orang daripada 44 keluarga.

Kerajaan akan meneliti cadangan daripada hasil kajian Agensi Kerjasama Antarabangsa Jepun (Jica) untuk membina tebing tinggi di kawasan pantai bagi mengatasi masalah banjir di seluruh negara.

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, cadangan yang pernah dibangkitkan sekitar 20 tahun lalu itu boleh diusahakan selepas projek Rancangan Tebatan Banjir (RTB) di seluruh negara, selesai dilaksanakan.

“Ada cadangan saya ingat lama dah 20 tahun lebih yang lepas, dicadangkan oleh Kerajaan Jepun iaitu projek Jica umpamanya untuk mengatasi masalah banjir di pantai barat (Malaysia) dan ketika itu tahun 90-an, keperluan perbelanjaan itu sudah mencecah RM10 bilion, sekarang mungkin dah RM20 bilion.

“Antara lain kajian Jica untuk bina tebing-tebing tinggi di seluruh kawasan pantai. Sudah tentu ini akan mengambil masa dan mudah-mudahan bila keadaan ekonomi yang jauh lebih kukuh, selesai masalah tebatan banjir kita,” katanya pada sesi Waktu Pertanyaan-Pertanyaan Menteri di Dewan Rakyat, semalam.

Perdana Menteri berkata demikian bagi menjawab soalan tambahan Yusuf Abd Wahab (GPS-Tanjong Manis) yang ingin tahu pendekatan kerajaan dalam mengatasi masalah banjir tahunan yang menelan kos ratusan juta setiap tahun.

Pada masa ini, Anwar berkata, kerajaan memperuntukkan hampir RM15 bilion bagi projek RTB di seluruh negara sebagai ikhtiar untuk mengawal masalah banjir, selain menggunakan teknologi terkini bagi meramal cuaca

Kerajaan memperuntukkan hampir RM15 bilion bagi projek RTB di seluruh negara untuk dimaklumkan kepada rakyat.

Bagaimanapun, beliau menyedari langkah terbabit masih tidak mencukupi dan tiada negara yang dapat mengawal cuaca biarpun mereka mempunyai teknologi terbaik termasuk China, Amerika Syarikat dan Eropah.

“Tetapi, ikhtiar itu harus ada... cuma tahun ini hujan itu luar jangka, jauh lebih (banyak) iaitu (jumlah) lima hari (hujan) sama dengan enam bulan sebelumnya, jadi tertangguh hujannya, kemarau dan kemudian turun dengan banyak menyebabkan takungan dan banjir,” katanya.

Katanya, di beberapa daerah di Kelantan umpamanya, bacaan hujan mencecah lebih 1,167 milimeter (mm) dalam masa lima hari iaitu pada 26 hingga 30 November lalu dan di beberapa daerah di Terengganu pula mencatat hujan sehingga 1,761mm untuk tempoh sama.

Menjawab soalan Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) mengenai kerosakan jalan akibat banjir, Anwar berkata, kerajaan menyediakan hampir RM1 bilion bantuan segera untuk mengatasi pelbagai kerosakan, dengan keutamaan bagi memperbaiki sekolah, hospital, jalan asas serta ganti rugi. - Bernama