MIRI: The Education Department has yet to receive distress calls from drought-stricken schools in Belaga, Kapit and Song districts.
State Education Department director Mortadza Alop said the situation was still manageable and rations were still being supplied to the affected schools, despite the low water level in the Rajang River caused by dry weather and the impoundment of water at the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam.
The current dry spell is also due to the El Nino effect,
which will persist until next March.
“I am happy as at the moment we have yet to receive distress or emergency calls from the schools in the affected areas in Belaga or Kapit,” Mortadza told The Borneo Post after receiving a Loyalty Service Award on Thursday.
“The situation is manageable, I have spoken to some of the PPDs (District Education Offices), and they said it is still manageable.”
The department, he said, would monitor the situation closely, adding they might close several schools located in areas from Merit to
Belaga if the situation warranted it.
“Normally, they should report the emergency to the PPDs. If the worst is to happen, the state natural disaster and relief management committee will have to be activated because not only our teachers are involved but also medical staff and everybody, particularly the relevant agencies,” he added.
There are 73 primary and eight secondary schools in Belaga, Kapit and Song Districts, with some 20,000 students.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said the Rajang basin is expected to continue experiencing dry weather next week.
The situation is expected to improve later next month when normal rainfall between 300 millimetres and 500 millimetres is expected with the Landas season.
In a report last Tuesday, Kapit Resident Dahim Nadot said if the situation worsened this month, they would notify the State Disaster Relief Management Committee in Kuching for further action, including recommending cloud seeding in certain areas.
There are 98 longhouses with a population of over 19,800 in Kapit and Belaga Districts.