Sarawak to evacuate people at first sign of rising river levels

People in flood-prone areas of Sarawak, which is bracing for severe floods, are to be evacuated at the first sign of rising river levels.

This was stated on Monday by Sarawak Department of Civil Defence director Col (PA) Mohtar Samat.

"Once the level of rivers start rising and in the event of the king tide, we will mobilise all agencies and selected villagers to undertake evacuation," he told Bernama.

He said this was seen as the most practical response to the situation given the experience of relief agencies during floods in the past, and it was agreed to by the State Disaster Management Committee.

"The Department of Civil Defence has been appointed as the secretariat of the committee. We work closely with the Meteorological Department to obtain weather reports.

"We also monitor the rivers and dams daily based on the reports issued by the Department of Drainage and Irrigation.

The state government has identified 610 flood relief centres and 25 forward bases in the state that can be opened at any time the situation warrants it.

Mohtar said that besides moving people out of their homes, the committee had set the objective of achieving zero deaths during floods.

Asked how the instruction to evacuate would be issued, he said the information would be channelled through the mass media.

He also said that the department was in the process of setting up a one-stop centre to coordinate all information on floods.