PETALING JAYA – Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi menyampaikan ucapan takziah dan simpati kepada rakyat Myanmar susulan gempa bumi kuat yang mengorbankan nyawa serta menyebabkan kemusnahan besar di negara itu, hari ini.

Beliau berkata, Malaysia berdiri bersama rakyat Myanmar serta semua pihak yang terkesan akibat bencana tersebut selain mendoakan buat mereka dalam menghadapi situasi sukar ketika ini.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia bersedia menghulurkan bantuan dan menyokong usaha kemanusiaan yang diperlukan Myanmar, Thailand serta negara terjejas, susulan gempa bumi yang melanda hari ini.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, Malaysia berdiri teguh dalam solidariti bersama negara jiran serta negara anggota ASEAN.

Selain menyatakan keprihatinannya terhadap kemusnahan besar di Mandalay, Bangkok dan kawasan sekitarnya, beliau turut melahirkan rasa dukacita terhadap laporan mengenai bangunan runtuh, mangsa yang terperangkap serta jumlah korban yang semakin meningkat.

Malaysia juga ujarnya sedang memantau perkembangan di selatan Yunnan, China, yang turut mengalami gegaran dan kerosakan struktur.

“Atas nama Malaysia, saya mengucapkan takziah kepada semua yang kehilangan insan tersayang dan mendoakan kesejahteraan bagi mereka yang cedera serta terpaksa berpindah akibat bencana itu.

“Dalam saat penuh kesedihan ini, semoga proses pemulihan berjalan lancar dan ikatan serantau membawa harapan serta penyembuhan,” katanya dalam laman sosial Facebook.

JOHOR BARU: A total of 3,749 flood-affected households in Johor received RM11.247 million in financial aid today, with each family getting RM3,000 to help them recover ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the funds were disbursed simultaneously across six affected districts under a joint effort involving the National Disaster Management Agency, Johor Islamic Religious Council, local authorities and the Johor Housing Development Corporation.

"The state government wants to ensure flood victims receive assistance immediately, especially with Hari Raya approaching," he said today. He said the flood situation in Johor was improving, with only Batu Pahat still affected.

Up to 6pm today, 266 people from 79 families were taking shelter at two temporary flood relief centres in Batu Pahat. "The state government will continue to monitor the situation and ensure aid reaches those in need promptly."

Onn Hafiz expressed gratitude to district offices, frontliners, volunteers, government agencies and non-governmental organisations for their relentless efforts in assisting flood victims.

"Johor remains committed to flood management and relief efforts, ensuring that no victim is left behind." He called for prayers for good weather and a safe return home for the displaced.

CHIANG MAI: A bright orange helicopter races over the jungle to dump water on a raging wildfire that is adding to the air pollution choking Thailand’s northern tourist hub of Chiang Mai.

Chutaphorn Phuangchingngam, the only female captain in Thailand’s national disaster prevention team, draws on two decades of flying to steer the Russian-made chopper through the thick smoke.

Forest fires are burning in several areas of northern Thailand, contributing to the annual spike in air pollution that comes with farmers burning stubble to prepare their land for the next crop.

Chiang Mai had the sixth worst air quality of any major city in the world on Thursday morning, according to monitor IQAir, and the city governor has warned residents against staying outdoors.

“We use (helicopters) to put out fire in areas that are difficult to reach, especially in the mountains,“ she said.

Chutaphorn and her six-member crew flew over Huai Bok reservoir, collecting 3,000 litres of water each time before heading two kilometres to the fire zone, spread across more than 1.6 hectares (four acres).

Northern Thailand is the latest area around the world to suffer significant wildfires, after South Korea -- currently battling its biggest on record -- Japan and California.

While the causes of forest fires can be complex, climate change can make them more likely by creating hotter, drier weather that leaves undergrowth more prone to catching light.

As well as damaging important forests, the fires are fuelling Thailand’s anxieties about air pollution, which causes millions of people to need medical treatment each year.

Smog crisis

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- dangerous cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- were almost 15 times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit in Chiang Mai on Thursday, according to IQAir.

The government banned crop burning early this year to try to improve air quality, with violators facing fines and legal action, but authorities said the measures have proven ineffective.

“There are still large numbers of farmers who continue to burn their fields,“ said Dusit Pongsapipat, head of the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Chiang Mai.

Danaipat Pokavanich, a clean-air advocate involved in drafting the Clean Air Act -- a bill to curb pollution in Thailand -- praised the firefighting efforts but called them a “temporary fix”.

“The law alone won’t stop farmers from burning,“ he said.

He recommended offering financial incentives to encourage sustainable farming practices and investing in technology to reduce the need for burning.

Until then, Chatuphorn and her team remain ready to take to the skies to do their part to clean up the air by putting out forest fires.

“Flying a helicopter for disaster work is different from flying passengers,“ she said, citing limited visibility as a major challenge.

She remains committed to her childhood dream.

“I just wanted to touch the cloud,“ she said, after the helicopter landed. “Though now all I feel is just the smoke.”