KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia is mobilizing over 100,000 officers and personnel from various rescue agencies ahead of the northeast monsoon season and the expectation of floods, an official said on Friday.
The monsoon season is expected to last until next March with the preparations including various vehicles including ambulances, boats, aircraft as well as emergency supplies such as lifejackets, Wazirudin Mahfot, operations coordination section principal assistant director of the National Disaster Management Agency, told a press briefing.
He said technical agencies, including the Public Works Department and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, have also made available support assets comprising 17 units of heavy machinery, 575 mobile pumps and 30 generator sets.
Wazirudin also said the government had designated 8,321 temporary relief centers nationwide, with a combined capacity of about 1.9 million people, as well as two permanent relief centers in the states of Johor and Pahang that could accommodate a total of 1,600 people. ■