Jack (second right) fields questions from the media a the press conference.
BINTULU: The Divisional Disaster Management Committee here is urging responders from various government agencies and departments including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to respond proactively and effectively to possible floods in Bintulu.
Bintulu Resident Jack Aman Luat said Bintulu is one of areas that is always affected by the floods during the monsoon season.
He said the responders had to be coordinated so that they could strictly adhere to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP). A comprehensive guideline had been prepared by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), he added.
“The responders here have been briefed accordingly by the Civil Defence Force (APM) on the guidelines prepared by SDMC, which will be followed by the disaster management committees in all divisions,” Jack told a press conference after chairing the coordination meeting yesterday.
“With the guidelines, the way we manage evacuation centres, for example, will be different. There will be proper physical distancing with some limitation on the number of evacuees at each centre, depending on its size,” he said.
He added that 12 evacuation centres had been prepared in Bintulu — 11 in Tatau and four in Sebauh, this year.
Jack said inspections had been carried out by the committee on the ground to ensure that basic facilities were already there in the existing evacuation centres.
“During the meeting, we also highlighted the need to have more temporary evacuation centres. We have asked permission from Bintulu Education office to use school halls as additional evacuation centres, and once identified, they will be gazetted,” he said.
In the meantime, he said Sebauh and Tatau district offices, Welfare Department and APM were also requested to go to the ground to identify other suitable places for evacuation centres, not only in town but also in the interior.
Jack, meanwhile, will lead the divisional disaster management committee, with the district police chief as the operations commander, and Fire and Rescue Department chief as deputy.
For coordination, he said the district officers would make sure all the coordination works, in terms of operations and assistance, would be implemented smoothly.