70,000 personnel from various agencies on standby to face floods - Hamzah

KOTA BHARU: As many as 70,000 officers and personnel from various agencies are ready to be deployed to deal with the possible flood disaster due to the Northeast Monsoon, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

He said the number includes the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) with 21,018 personnel; the Malaysian Armed Forces (18,500); the Fire and Rescue Department (15,000), the Civil Defence Force (10,500) and the People's Volunteer Corp (4,400).

"We have asked for assistance from several agencies because we are aware that many of PDRM personnel will be involved in the 15th General Election (GE15).

"We have also asked for help to use assets from the agencies involved such as lorries, boats and air assets," he said after attending the GE15 briefing and preparation for the monsoon season at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters, here today.

Also present were Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and Home Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.

Commenting further, Hamzah said his ministry had identified as many as 5,500 'hotspot' locations at risk of flooding nationwide, including 186 areas at risk of water surge phenomenon.

"We have studied several strategies to ensure that the people can put their trust in the PDRM because we are prepared to face the possibility of a disaster due to heavy rainfall," he said.

--BERNAMA