Pahang APM beefs up manpower at flood-prone areas

KUANTAN: The Pahang Civil Defence Force (APM) has increased its manpower in 554 areas identified as flood-prone, in preparation for the Northeast Monsoon which is expected to begin next month.

Its director Col (PA) Che Adam A Rahman said this year, 890 members would be assigned at all the locations involved, compared to 600 last year, and all were required to undergo retraining to sharpen their skills.

"Exercises to promote water confidence have been conducted and we have inspected the land and water assets so that everything is ready for rescue efforts to run smoothly," he said after a training session here today.

Che Adam said that so far 81 boats, four-wheel drive vehicles (12), ambulances (15) and a bus have been put on standby to deal with the floods in the state.

APM has also implemented the Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) process where communities are engaged to identify and act on disaster risks while waiting for rescue teams to arrive.

-- BERNAMA