Helping hand: Siti Rohani (centre) during the handover session of grants to some of the Volunteer Fire Brigade (PBS) at the Johor PBS Annual Aid and Engagement Grant Presentation Ceremony at the JBPM state headquarters. — Bernama
JOHOR BARU: A total of 745 locations in Johor are at risk of flooding this year, which is the highest ever recorded so far, says the state Fire and Rescue Department.
Its director Siti Rohani Nadir said Batu Pahat was the district with the most flood-prone areas, involving 186 locations.
This is followed by Segamat with 103 locations, Muar (87), Kluang (78), Tangkak (59), Pontian (58), Kota Tinggi (56), Johor Baru (44), Mersing (38) and Kulai (36).
Siti Rohani stated that one of the factors that has increased flooding is climate change, which has “caused floods to occur in previously unaffected areas like Chaah in Segamat last year”.
She said this after presenting grants to fire and rescue volunteer teams at the state Fire and Rescue Department here yesterday.
She said the department has also detected 23 locations with critical slopes involving the districts of Johor Baru, Mersing, Kota Tinggi, Kluang, Segamat, Muar and Batu Pahat.
She said with heavier rainfalls expected to occur in the coming days, the public, including those living in non-flood-prone areas, must take precautionary measures to safeguard themselves.
She said many locations in Johor were experiencing heavy rainfall as the country was transitioning toward the northeast monsoon season.
“This has resulted in floods in several districts, and the northeast monsoon season, which typically lasts from November to March next year, has not yet begun.“With this in mind, the department has taken several steps to ensure firefighters are always ready for any kind of emergency during the monsoon season,” Siti Rohani added.
She said among them are working closely with other departments and agencies, such as the police, Civil Defence, Irrigation and Drainage Department, and the Malaysian Meteorological Department.
She said the department was monitoring the monsoon season closely and had placed their 1,425 officers and personnel, including volunteers, on standby.
“All of our assets, including 38 four-wheel-drive vehicles, 10 trucks and 45 boats, are in good working condition, and we will use them when the situation arises.“The public needs to be vigilant and prepared when continuous heavy rainfalls hit their areas.
“This includes putting important documents inside a plastic bag, switching off all electrical items and moving to higher ground. They must also be prepared to relocate to a temporary relief centre as instructed by authorities.”
In an unrelated matter, Siti Rohani said the state Fire and Rescue Department has been working with the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) since last month for a pilot project using artificial intelligence (AI).
She said it is meant for processing building plans involving architectural as well as mechanical and electrical aspects.
“The use of AI will speed up the evaluation process of building plans, which was previously done manually and took 14 days to complete,” she said.
Siti Rohani also stated that a development project plan requires support from technical agencies, including the department, before proceeding with the process of obtaining a Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
“This will align with the state’s development, which will accelerate through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Therefore, the use of AI will further simplify the processing of the plan,” she said.
