WHEN a warning reaches a longhouse, three important questions need to be answered. Who will pass on the warning? Where should residents go? And who will check on those who may need assistance getting there?
These may sound like simple questions, but having clear answers can make a significant difference during an emergency. In a crisis, confusion, delays and uncertainty can cost valuable time. For communities in rural Sarawak, where settlements can be scattered across vast areas and access is sometimes difficult, preparation is particularly important.
The time to work out these answers is during a community drill, not when disaster strikes. Residents should have the opportunity to walk along evacuation routes, identify suitable assembly points, understand how warnings will be communicated and agree on who is responsible for helping vulnerable neighbours.
Well-planned exercises expose weaknesses in communication, evacuation routes and task responsibilities before emergencies occur.
Addressing these gaps through practice helps clarify roles and build confidence, ensuring that during a real crisis, the first five minutes are spent taking action rather than deciding what to do.
Emergencies can progress through five stages: incident, major incident, crisis, disaster and catastrophe. Prompt intervention and coordinated action can prevent minor incidents from escalating. However, local leaders must also recognise when a situation exceeds community capabilities and seek assistance from relevant authorities. This is particularly important in Sarawak, where mountainous terrain, rivers, long distances and isolated settlements pose challenges to rescue operations and emergency supply delivery. Limited telecommunications coverage in some areas can further delay warnings and hinder communication between residents and responding agencies.
A district operations centre may have the overall picture of an emergency, but local communities possess valuable knowledge about vulnerable households, dangerous routes and reliable communication channels.
This knowledge is essential to disaster preparedness and should be integrated into emergency response systems. Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) and monsoon floods (2020–2023) demonstrated the importance of organised community support.
Local leaders and volunteers helped communicate public health information, identify families in need and distribute essential supplies, ensuring vulnerable households were not overlooked.
During the floods, community representatives and volunteers helped relay warnings, report cut-off roads and access routes, and identify residents needing evacuation assistance.
Their local knowledge enabled responding teams to direct personnel, vehicles and supplies where they were most needed, particularly when normal communication channels were disrupted.
These are the people I call our local heroes. Their contributions may not involve dramatic rescues or highly visible acts of bravery. Sometimes, a telephone call, a knock on a neighbour’s door or a timely report to the district operations team can make a significant difference.
Their familiarity with local households and established contacts helps ensure that concerns reach the relevant agencies before situations worsen.
We must continue strengthening partnerships between communities, government departments and volunteer organisations. Disaster preparedness is a shared responsibility that begins within the community.
The recent transboundary haze also highlighted the importance of vigilance between major emergencies. I commend the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) and enforcement agencies for their monitoring and patrol efforts, which help identify emerging environmental threats and enable timely preventive action.
Preparedness goes beyond responding to emergencies. It involves monitoring risks, sharing information and taking preventive action before situations worsen.
Exercises held in conjunction with Hari Kesiapsiagaan Negara gave responding agencies and local non-governmental organisations valuable opportunities to practise coordination.
Such drills help test procedures, clarify responsibilities and identify communication gaps before a real emergency occurs.
For example, confusion over who should issue an evacuation warning could leave residents uninformed, with potentially serious consequences. Identifying and addressing such gaps during exercises allows organisations to agree on responsibilities and strengthen coordination ahead of future emergencies.
In a crisis, people look to leaders who demonstrate three essential qualities: competence, confidence and communication.
Competence is the ability to assess situations, understand risks and determine appropriate responses. Confidence means making timely decisions under pressure, while communication involves providing clear, accurate instructions so people know what to do.
These qualities are particularly important during evacuations. Residents must know whether warnings apply to their settlement, when to leave, where to go and whom to contact for assistance. Clear instructions prevent confusion and enable timely action.
I have seen the value of clearly defined responsibilities in the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), led by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, and its coordination with district committees and responding agencies.
Effective coordination ensures information, personnel and resources reach areas where they are needed. Field teams must be able to focus on their assignments, knowing that wider logistical challenges involving access, transport, equipment and supplies are being addressed.
Non-governmental organisations and volunteer groups also play an important role. However, they must understand reporting lines, how assistance requests are communicated and how priorities are established.
Crucially, information must flow both ways, ensuring that those coordinating the response understand conditions on the ground while field teams receive the guidance and support they need.
Effective disaster preparedness requires close coordination between volunteers, local communities and government agencies.
Volunteers can report settlements still awaiting assistance, while district teams can direct them to areas where help is most urgently needed.
This two-way communication avoids duplication, maximises available resources and ensures assistance reaches those who need it most.
Community exercises should go beyond demonstrating evacuation procedures. They must test the entire communication and response chain, ensuring warnings reach every household, including those in areas with poor mobile phone coverage.
Organisers should also establish how residents can request assistance when normal communication channels fail.
Residents should practise evacuation routes, identify alternative escape paths and acquire basic first aid and life support skills. These abilities can prove invaluable while waiting for professional responders to arrive.
Every exercise should be followed by an evaluation to identify weaknesses. Organisers must establish who received warnings late, which households required additional assistance, whether evacuation routes were accessible and whether volunteers understood their responsibilities.
Feedback should translate into practical improvements before the next exercise.
The experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and monsoon floods demonstrated the value of cooperation between government agencies and people who understand their communities.
This partnership should remain central to Sarawak’s disaster preparedness efforts.
Ultimately, effective emergency response begins long before rescue teams arrive. It requires planning, training, communication and cooperation.
During every community exercise, residents should be able to answer three essential questions: who will pass on the warning, where should they go and who will check on their neighbours?
Every responsibility agreed upon during practice is one less decision to make during an actual emergency. In those crucial first five minutes, preparation can make all the difference.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at khirudindrahman@sslborneo.com.my
