KUCHING: Flood victims are urged to relocate to temporary evacuation centres (PPS) to ensure their safety and welfare can be managed more effectively, particularly in terms of distribution of food supplies, drinking water, and basic necessities.
Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, said that victims who choose to remain in their own homes may be in areas minimally affected, but relocation is still advised should flood conditions worsen.
She said victims who relocate and register at PPS will be included in the list of aid recipients to ensure their basic needs are adequately met throughout the disaster period.
“The Social Welfare Department (JKM), local authorities and security agencies are always on site.
“However, if victims remain in their own homes, they still need to register at PPS to ensure that no family is left out from receiving assistance,” she said.
She said this during a press conference after visiting PPS Surau Ar-Rahman, Kampung Sungai Batu.
Nancy added that registration is crucial, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs), as the absence of registered information could complicate the coordination of assistance in terms of safety and welfare.
Meanwhile, she informed that JKM had earlier introduced a self-registration facility through the myIBJKM system, which was first implemented in Kuching and has now been rolled out nationwide to facilitate the management of victim information and to prevent any issues related to aid claims.
“The opening and operation of PPS are carried out in stages to ensure that the safety and welfare of victims continue to be safeguarded, in line with the severity of the disaster in a particular area.
“To ensure smooth operations, many government officers have also had their leave frozen to enable comprehensive management and coordination of assistance,” she said.
Commenting on the preparedness of PPS, Nancy said that a total of 9,058 temporary evacuation centres has been identified and are ready for use nationwide, with the capacity to accommodate up to two million victims.
She said registered PPS are always on standby, particularly community halls and school halls that have been identified for evacuation purposes.
Meanwhile, when asked whether there were plans to add more Operations Command Centres (POB) in view of the current flood situation, she said her ministry would act according to prevailing needs.
“At present, we are utilising existing facilities and remain ready to add more if necessary. Available supplies also exceed requirements, as our planning is always based on higher estimates,” she said.
She also informed that in terms of planning and quantification of needs, everything has been systematically arranged to ensure that disaster relief management runs smoothly and effectively.
