Lessons learnt, Kuala Krai folks get ready to face flood

KUALA KRAI: Malaysians witnessed an extraordinary natural phenomenon in 2014, a massive flood known as the yellow deluge (Bah Kuning) that inundated much of Kelantan on Dec 23, 2014.
Endless torrential rain over days caused several main rivers such as Sungai Galas, Sungai Lebir, Sungai Nenggiri and Sungai Kelantan to burst their banks and submerge almost all of the state's districts.
Statistics from the Kelantan National Security Council (NSC) showed that over 170,000 families in the state had relocated to 170 relief centres.
Kuala Krai was among the worst-hit districts with 16,734 families sheltered in 83 relief centres.
The flood had also caused 1,927 houses to be washed away by unusually strong currents.
Residents of Kelantan panicked as they tried to save themselves and their families, while the rescue and aid missions of the government departments and agencies were hindered due to the magnitude of the problem.
The situation became even more difficult when roads, electricity and communications channels were cut off. Aerial assistance too were limited due to the bad weather and the lack of helicopter landing sites as much of the land was under water.
Lessons learnt
If there was anything good that came out of the tragedy, it would be the lessons learnt by all parties especially the community and government agencies in creating a standard operating procedure (SOP) for such incidents.
Almost nine months later, numerous strategic measures have been taken to prevent the flood from recurring.
The East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang usually experience floods between November and March due to the monsoon season.
Among the parties that has been working to improve the preparedness in facing calamities is the Fire and Rescue Department in Kelantan, which held a three-day community-level disaster management course in Kuala Krai that ended on Oct 6.
The course involved over 100 community leaders in Kuala Krai, with the exposure to the community leaders being highly meaningful in helping them to manage with the crisis.
It was also held with the cooperation of the Kuala Krai Land and District Office, National Security Council, Royal Malaysian Police, Health Ministry, Social Welfare Department, Department of Irrigation and Drainage as well as the Meteorological Department.
Measures and strategies

This year, the Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department used its experience from 2014 deluge to workout strategies to face future floods.
Its director, Azmi Osman said among the strategies taken was mobilising earlier several boats to high risk areas such as Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and Pasir Mas.
"We have also increased vehicles for land routes, including three lorries, to facilitate rescue operations," he said.
Azmi said community leaders also play an important role in assisting security agencies face floods, which includes understanding the situation on the ground that would help expedite assistance.
Preparation by community leaders
Community leaders in the district when met by Bernama expressed hope that they would never have to deal with such a calamity ever again. However, they were still making preparations for a worst case scenario.

Dabong district chief Ab Aziz Ibrahim, 52, said he and the community have organised strategies to ensure flood preparations would go smooth.
"I have ordered committee members here to identify areas that may pose difficulties when rescuing people during floods.
"So in the event of a flood we will know how to save ourselves and how to help authorities to get to the affected areas," he said.
Ab Aziz, who has served the area for 13 years, could not forget the situation he and the villagers were in during the floods last year.
"There are about 16,000 people in Dabong and we had to help one another to to save ourselves.
"Our area is quite remote and this makes it even more difficult for agencies to extend help... we were forced to stave off hunger among others," he added.
Ab Aziz and the villagers are now ready should they be tested by the flood again.
Putting people's needs first

Meanwhile, Hazura Hamezah, 46, a penghulu (head of a village/sub district) under the Kuala Krai parliament constituency said she has made sure that the people's safety and needs would be taken care of should it flood again.
"I will ensure all needs, supplies and safety aspects are sufficient for flood victims.
"The welfare of residents here is my responsibility and I will make sure all preparations are in place before the monsoon season arrives," she said.
Hazura had held the post of penghulu in the Manek Urai constituency for 10 years before taking up her current post for two years.
"This is the first time I'm facing this situation (floods) and as a leader I must always be positive to help the community," she said.
Manek Urai Selatan Federal Village Security and Development Committee (JKKKP) chairman Che Din Noh, 55, said he had made early plans including increasing flood relief centres.
"Previously, most victims relocated to Sekolah Kebangsaan Manek Urai. However, the four-storey building was submerged until the third floor.
"Therefore, we have set up four temporary relief centres for several areas identified and another one on top of a hill that will facilitate helicopter landing," he said.
Manjor Utara and Kampung Pemberian JKKKP chairman Zulkifli Omar, 51, said he has formed a special committee to tackle floods this year.
"I have made plans early and arranged programmes for the people here on how to save themselves and their families before the flood worsens," he said.
Despite preparations in place, residents and leaders alike pray that they will not experience another flood episode this time around. – Bernama