SARAWAK is to put the use of video conferencing on trial for real time situational awareness in monitoring the seasonal flood expected to hit the state later this month.

State disaster and relief management committee chairman Douglas Uggah, who has issued a directive that all its 12 residents (heads of administrative division) get their flood operations rooms to the highest state of preparedness, said the use of technology should improve the way they monitor the flood situation.

The video conferencing technology will link officers manning the state operations room in Kuching with those in the operations rooms at the various residents’ divisional offices, district offices, and key disasters officers via their smartphones.

Prior to this, communication was by phone, text messages, and fax machine.

In the post-disaster meeting media conference this afternoon, Uggah, who is also Sarawak deputy chief minister, also promised repairs for basic infrastructure damaged by the flood would be approved in less than two weeks.

Uggah said he was confident approvals to repair requests could be made in quick time.

More than 22,000 personnel drawn from the armed forces, police, fire, health, civil defence, and welfare departments, and the state’s residents’ and district officers have been put on standby.

The assets that have been put at the disposal of the disaster committee include five helicopters, 121 trucks, 484 four-wheel drive vehicles, 328 boats, and five drones.

Also ready are the relief centres and food dump sites.

Uggah said a total of 621 relief centres have been identified throughout the state, and are to accommodate around 200,000 people.

Kuching has the most relief centres at 162.

He said the 18 food dump sites are operationally ready, and 165 suppliers have been signed up to replenish the food dumps. – December 6, 2018.