KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — The coordination between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and other rescue agencies in facing the monsoon season has been carried out in an orderly fashion, said Nadma director-general Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus.
He said preliminary preparations had been made before the arrival of the Northeast Monsoon, apart from improving rescue operation standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“Various exercises have been conducted with all rescue agencies in accordance with National Security Council directive No. 20.
“We have no problem coordinating other rescue agencies as we have learned a lot from past experiences (of natural disasters),” he said.
Khairul said this when appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s ‘Ruang Bicara’ programme tonight.
He added that coordination with other rescue agencies can help officers exchange views and understanding of rescue-related SOPs.
“I would like to call on the local communities to be the first responders to act in the event of a natural disaster in their areas without waiting for the arrival of rescue assistance.
“This is because the local residents know the areas better, places where flood waters rise, where to evacuate and so on,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) deputy director-general (Operations) Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said as many as 150 boats had been approved in the previous allocation to be given to the local communities.
He said the boat would enable the community to evacuate early in the event of a flood and facilitate rescue operations.
“We need to empower local communities so that they can act in an emergency situation before help arrives,” he said.
— Bernama
