By Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, July 8 — Volunteers from Selangor have cleaned up 72 flood victims’ houses in Baling, Kedah during the state’s two-day post-flood relief mission which began yesterday.
State executive councillor for youth Mohd Khairuddin Othman said the cleaning process was carried out by members of Selangor Volunteer (SERVE) and Special Action Squad (Pantas) as well as personnel from 12 local councils.
“We could only clean 36 houses a day, with personnel from each local council cleaning three houses while SERVE members assisted the victims to bring out their belongings and help to clean them.
“We did not manage to clean up many houses, however, the equipment that we brought such as the Roll-On-Roll-Off truck and water tanker, helped to expedite the process,” he said.
Mohd Khairudin who led the post-flood relief mission said they are willing to consider providing the assistance again if a request is made.
“If they need our help again, we are willing to go back there and help the victims. This mission is not just about providing relief from the state government as it is also done based on a humanitarian basis,” he said.
A total of 263 personnel from various agencies were mobilised to the mission in Baling, Kedah for two days, covering areas in Kampung Sadek, Kampung Tanjung Merbau, Kampung Jerai, Kampung Tanjung Kupang and Kampung Seberang Jaya.
The relief mission also brought along 33 pieces of machinery and 112 power tools, including four-wheel drive (4×4) vehicles, vans, Roll-On-Roll-Off (RoRo) trucks, and tipper trucks
Heavy rain for almost three hours in Baling on Monday (July 4) afternoon caused Sungai Kupang’s water level to overflow, which flooded the homes of nearby residents and resulted in three deaths as well as seven houses destroyed.
