Floods: 485 Sarawak JKM staff on standby

KUCHING: A total of 485 employees of the Sarawak Social Welfare Department (JKM) are prepared to face any flood situation in the state.

State Women, Children and Community Welfare Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said besides that a total of 42 department vehicles are also ready to be mobilised if needed in the flood operation.

She said Sarawak JKM has readied 23 disaster forward bases in the state to prepare for any flood disaster.

A forward base is a place, building, or premises for storing stocks of disaster relief items in flood-prone areas that are often isolated.

"The aid items are stocked before the yearly monsoon season in October, and these stocks will be stored for a period of six months," she said in a statement, here, today.

Fatimah also said that 157 suppliers of dried foodstuff and 231 supplies of cooked food have been identified to distribute to affected victims.

"Besides that, we have a storage depot for disaster victims in Samarahan. The depot has a capacity to store 432 tonnes of 'disaster' supplies," she added.

-- BERNAMA