A TOTAL of 93 recreational areas nationwide are at risk of water surge incidents. 

Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said these are areas with waterfalls, rivers, and beaches under the supervision of the Fire and Rescue Department. 

He said measures were taken to reduce risk of accidents in the affected areas, which included various awareness programmes and the Asean-level Water Activity Safety Council in June. 

“There are 93 areas at risk of water surge recorded from 2019 to 2023. We are constantly intensifying our efforts to increase public awareness, to avoid untoward incidents. 

“For this, we have Safety Water and Rescue Team Auxiliary Fire officers,” he said at the closing ceremony of the Fire Science Certificate course today. 

According to Akmal, a total of 1,464 drowning cases were reported in six years. 

“As of May this year, a total of 168 drowning cases were recorded,” he said. 

He extended his condolences to the families of the recent Jeram Air Putih water surge victims. – Bernama, July 8, 2023.