Nadma asked to improve on disaster prediction capability

PUTRAJAYA: The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) must improve its capability to predict new disasters which may strike the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, adding that the climate change phenomena must be studied in depth.
"We may be faced with new disasters such as prolonged droughts and typhoons. These problems seldom occur in our country and we have to look at making the necessary preparations now.
"We have to do scenario planning to face any unexpected future eventualities," she told a press conference, here today.
Earlier, Wan Azizah had attended a meeting and briefing session with Nadma director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus.
At the meeting, Wan Azizah said there was a need to conduct a disaster risk audit for every state as the disaster risk profile was different from state to state.
"So, the preparations which must be made may differ," she said.
Wan Azizah said the assets and necessary technological back up needed during disasters must be identified to allow for better and more efficient disaster management.
She added that Nadma also needed to plan training programmes with various agencies to ensure better coordination of the operations, as well as discuss with non-governmental organisations on coordination during disasters.
She said lessons must be learnt from the major floods which occurred in Kelantan in 2014.
Wan Azizah also urged Nadma to study the National Security Council's Directive 20 to see if it needed to be improved.
"Directive 20 was issued after the Highland Towers tragedy more than 20 years ago. We may need to study areas which can be improved," she said.
In the meeting, Wan Azizah said other aspects which need to be discussed include the effectiveness of the early warning system during floods to minimise damage to property and loss of life.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Jailani said the risk audit will be conducted with the cooperation of other agencies so that the preparations are more planned and focused.
"We will move more effectively in the near future.
"In the audit, we will look at the documents and current needs and see how far they meet the SOPs," he said.
Ahmad Jailani said Nadma planned to start a "Friends of Nadma" programme to facilitate training and cooperation between individuals, non-governmental organisations and associations to help in disaster evacuation efforts.
"This is a good and cost-effective move and will help speed up rescue efforts," he said. — Bernama