Johor Fire and Rescue Department personnel carrying out surveillance at Sungai Rengit in Kota Tinggi.
Johor Fire and Rescue Department has not been called into action to tackle emergencies, as there has not been changes in weather patterns.
Johor Fire and Rescue Department operations division assistant director Azmi Ab Rahim said all 33 fire stations statewide were fully equipped, but deployment of rescue assets or manpower to hotspot locations was not needed at the moment.
The El Nino heat wave had only affected the peninsula’s northern areas, he said.
“We are experiencing the southwest monsoon, and compared to the northeast monsoon, rainfall is scattered and usually does not last very long.
“Despite warnings from Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) of downpours and thunderstorms, rainfall is often for a short time.
“So far, there have been flash floods which recede quickly unlike during the northeast monsoon season,” he said when contacted by StarMetro.
“We will activate the regional forward base to better mobilise assets and rescue operations during the northeast monsoon.
“We are lucky to have rainfall in the evenings because there is less chance for large-scale open burnings to take place at night.
“Fire reports are mostly domestic cases that do not require much manpower or deployment of assets,” he said.
Azmi added that from May 16 until June 3, the department received 57 peat land fire and 1,309 open burning reports.
Johor Climate Change and State Disaster Management Select Committee chairman Anuar Abd Manap said all rescue agencies were ready to provide help in the event of floods.
“We are ready to open up temporary relief centres and move out necessary logistics when needed.
“All local leaders and volunteers have been trained on rescuing and moving out victims when an area is flooded.
“The best thing we can do now is to closely follow information posted by MetMalaysia on its social media site or in the mainstream media, especially on heavy rainfall warnings,” said Anuar.
