Together We Stand

[ 103 ] was an inclination that the weather could be ‘more active’, with a total of eight heavy rain episodes to be expected. The third episode of heavy rain, from 21-24 December 2014, resulted in the worst flooding the country had experienced. Flood waters came with volume and speed, especially on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, namely in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. The states of Perak, Johor, Selangor, Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak were not spared. Areas such as Kuala Krai in Kelantan, Kuantan in Pahang and Gong Badak in Terengganu received more than 1,000 millimetres of rainfall for the period of 11-25 December 2014. In a normal month for the season, average rainfall is 500-600 millimetres for the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. In 2014, maximum impact due to the heavy rainfall occurred on 23-24 December and subsided by 26 December. Of all the states hit by the recent flooding, Kelantan was the worst affected particularly in the districts of Gua Musang and Kuala Krai. Due to the state’s relative isolation and largely rural area, thousands were left home- less as the turbulent floodwater demolished their houses. Following a large-scale disaster, four things are consid- ered as essential: water, food, access to medical care, and shelter. Having a proper shelter is important in order to rebuild the victims’ lives and protect their dignity. With this in mind, immediately after the water subsided, the Government embarked on planning, coordinating and implementing post-flood programmes and projects in a fast-track mode which included repairing houses that were still liveable enough to be upgraded, and rebuilding houses that were totally destroyed by the flood. Due to the large number of victims that were left home- less and the daunting task of providing rapid shelter and care, the Government opened up to international support which was very generous. Family tents contributed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, ShelterBox, the United Nations Development Programme, and from countries such as China and Qatar, provided much-needed shelters which were set up as integrated camps. The Government, with strong support from local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), provided other essentials such as food, sanitation, medical assistance, security, transportation for school children and other basic amenities. For those who refused to leave homes that were either damaged or destroyed, tents were set up at the site of their former houses instead. In addition, a number of the flood victims were also placed temporarily in various government quarters and hostels as well as transit houses built by NGOs. The Government recorded that a total of 1,827 houses were completely destroyed in the flood, affecting over 86,000 families. In its pursuit to return to normalcy, a special task force was formed by the Government to oversee the building of new houses on a fast-track basis. Through this task force, the Integrated Resettlement Programme was introduced to build back safer and reduce disaster risk, as well as solving problems on the ground arising from land title issues and squatters along the river bank. The Public Works Department (PWD), being the agency in charge of the construction of new houses, had come up with two house designs. Houses in low-lying areas were built on stilts with a built-up area of 660 square feet, while landed houses have a built-up area of 816 square feet. Rebuilding was done on existing individual lots or land with clear ownership. For former squatters, or families The Integrated Resettlement Programme was introduced to build back safer and reduce disaster risk Images: NADMA Malaysia T ogether W e S tand