The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Realistic disaster drill staged in Pekan
- Flood detection in place for the coming monsoon
- Dr Ng visits the marvels of Sabah’s east coast
| Realistic disaster drill staged in Pekan Posted: 06 Nov 2011 07:38 PM PST PEKAN: Screams of agony fill the air as victims of a horrific road accident await treatment by the roadside. Except none of them were injured at all. The victims were participants of a disaster drill held at Km18 of Jalan Pekan-Kuantan here yesterday. The participants make up and acting was so convincing that severalpassersby stopped their vehicles to ask about their condition. Drill coordinator Dr. Khairi Kassim said the accident scenario between a bus and oil tanker was to prepare rescue teams to face any road disaster that were to happen. Drivers have been speeding along this new road ever since it was completed. We wanted to be ready as this stretch of road is a high riskzone, he said. Dr Khairi added that the drill was part of several exercises conducted regularly at high risk areas. "A petrochemical disaster drill has been held at the Gebeng industrial parkwhile an airport disaster drill will be conducted soon," he said. He said the drill involved some 100 participants from agencies such as the police, Fire and Rescue Depart-ment, Civil Defence Department, Hospital Pekan, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, the road maintenance company and the National Security Council. "Every team cooperated and responded swiftly and smoothly according to plan. It is a job well done," said Dr. Khairi. The drill started at 10am and the first fire engine arrived at the scenewithin four minutes. While the police controlled the traffic, firefighters rescued victims from the bus and emergency medical rescue services personnel moved quickly to tend to the victims. The stand down order was given at about 11.20am when the fire wasextinguished and all 25 victims had been sent to the two hospitals in Pekan and Kuantan. Pekan district deputy police chief DSP Amran Sidek said the drill was a good exercise to overcome any weaknesses in police personnels response to a disaster. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Flood detection in place for the coming monsoon Posted: 06 Nov 2011 07:40 PM PST KUANTAN: An early warning flood detection system will be deployed as one of the state's preparation to face the monsoon season. State Secretary Datuk Seri Muhammad Safian Ismail said the Atmospheric Model-based Rainfall and Flood Forecasting System (AMRFF) will detect oncoming flood three days before it hits. The system will provide input every six hours so we will be constantly updated on the water level in the state, he told reporters after chairing a flood preparation meeting with heads of departments and agencies here recently. Muhammad Safian said floods are expected to hit the state from December to January next year. We forecast there will be more flood occurrence this year. Districts which may be highly affected are Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin. The high tide is expected to be from December 24 to 27 and if it rainsduring that time, we will have to brace ourselves for some trouble, he said. He said in preparation, 4,505 personnel from the Royal Malaysian Police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence, Army, Red Crescent Society and other departments had been put on standby. Another improvement this year is the identification of high risk public members such as those who have chronic illness, children less than a year old and those who are expected to give birth during the period. They will be given special attention, said Muhammad Safian. He added that 586 shelters across the state which can house some 170,000 flood victims had also been identified. "Food supply will be sent to all 105 forward bases beginning Nov 10 and the bases to be fully stocked within two weeks," he said, adding that necessary steps had been taken to solve the supply issues raised in the Auditor-Generals Report 2010. Muhammad Safian advised NGOs and private corporations that wish to donate supplies to channel it directly to the Social Welfare Department to avoid inconvenience. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Dr Ng visits the marvels of Sabah’s east coast Posted: 06 Nov 2011 07:40 PM PST KOTA KINABALU: For the unacquainted, the name Maliau Basin might not denote of anything special and some would even think of as just another household utensil. However, those who have walked within the walls of this basin of life will unmistakenly tell anyone why Maliau Basin is a world of its own, rightfully earning itself the title 'Sabah's Lost World'. Maliau possesses an astoundingly distinct biodiversity in flora and fauna, with over 1,800 species including at least six types of pitcher plants and over 80 rare and endemic species of orchids. It is also home to more than 80 species of rare mammals such as the banteng, clouded leopard and Malayan sunbear besides an impressive array of birds consisting of nearly 300 species such as the Bulwers Pheasant and the endemic Bornean Bristlehead. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen recently found out about the marvels of this access-limited haven in the east coast of Sabah while visiting the Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA). She was also briefed by MBCA manager Jadda Suhaimi on the conservation efforts in Maliau Basin by state-owned Yayasan Sabah Group. Recognising this unique area, the Yayasan Sabah Group designated MBCA for the purposes of research, education and training, along with Danum Valley and Imbak Canyon conservation areas located north and east of MBCA respectively. Jadda also said the MBCA acted as an important natural catchment area. Making a point of how important it was, he said the Maliau River drains through a gorge out of the southeast of the Basin into the Kuamut River, which in turn feeds into one of the headwaters of the Kinabatangan, Sabah's most important waterway. Numerous waterfalls have also been discovered throughout the Basin. The most famous of which is the spectacular seven-tier Maliau Falls. Maliau is also the home of the fabled Lake Linumunsut, Sabah's only natural freshwater lake, situated below the outer banks of the northern escarpment. Before visiting Maliau, Dr Ng had spent the night at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge and visited the Danum Valley Field Centre in neighbouring district Lahad Datu. She was accompanied by Tourism Malaysia director general Datuk Azizan Noordin, Sabah Tourism Board chairman Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin andTourism Malaysia domestic marketing director Musa Yusof on the trip. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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