PUTRAJAYA: The National Disaster Management Committee has stressed the need to focus on implementing measures that can reduce the financial impact of disasters and the suffering they inflict on people.
At its meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yesterday, the committee was told that based on international experience, the government would need to spend RM9.00 to handle a disaster compared to RM1.00 if mitigation measures had been taken before disaster struck.
According to a statement issued by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) in conjunction with the meeting, it also looked into the need and suitability to create a sinking fund for recurring fire cases so that the parties concerned would be held responsible for the disaster.
“This needs to be done not only for fire cases but also other incidents like the Sungai Kim Kim pollution in view that fire fighting or cleaning-up operations incur high costs,” the agency said.
Between January and April 30 this year, there were 16,700 cases of open burning, with 22.8 per cent or 3,808 cases being recurring fires at the same locations.
The Nadma statement said Dr Wan Azizah reminded agencies involved in the Sungai Kim Kim chemical disaster operations in Johor, especially the Department of Environment (DOE), to continue scanning and sweeping the locations where the chemicals were dumped and to take action to clean up or dispose of the waste immediately.
Yesterday’s meeting was also told that the 2018/2019 Northeast Monsoon (MTL) had ended at the end of March this year where Malaysia experienced minimal floods compared to previous years.
The meeting was told that 11,036 victims from 3,128 families were affected by the floods, with 133 evacuation centres opened and RM1.5 million in special aid given out so far, said Nadma.
For 2017/2018 MTL, RM9.9 million in special aid was given to 19,881 families, it said.
Nadma said based on ‘sample’ flood incidents in six states for MTL 2018/2019, 96 per cent or 108 of the 112 incidents of floods were flash floods caused mostly by problems of drainage maintenance.
Dr Wan Azizah also urged state governments through local authorities to take immediate action to maintain drainage systems. – Bernama
