KOTA BARU, Feb 7 — Several waves of floods that hit Kelantan since 2021 have caused infrastructure damage totalling RM172.3 million.
Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob said the damaged infrastructure included roads, bridges, irrigation and drainage systems, jetties and slopes.
“The assessed damage is based on recorded data. The value will increase after data collection is completed,” he told reporters after officiating the Kelantan disaster management system (e-Bencana) launch at Kompleks Kota Darul Naim here today, which was also attended by state Welfare, Family and Women Development Committee chairman Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi and state assembly Speaker Datuk Abdullah Ya’kub.
The e-Bencana system took eight years to develop at a cost of RM300,000 and will enable flood victims to obtain aid immediately and act as a more organised management mechanism to determine the roles and duties of agencies involved during disasters.
Ahmad also expressed his hope that the federal government would speed up the construction of the second and third phases of the Sungai Golok Integrated River Basin Development Project (PLSB) to mitigate floods.
“The flood situation in Rantau Panjang depends on the mitigation project.
“We hope that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi can assist in speeding up the implementation of the project. It is vital as it can save the village areas in Rantau Panjang,” Ahmad said.
Bernama reported on Sunday that residents of Kampung Tersang in Rantau Panjang had expressed their concerns after their village was flooded the day before following heavy rain and a deluge of water from Sungai Lanchang and Sungai Golok. — Bernama