KUALA LIPIS: The Works Ministry is prepared to deal with the possibility of floods in view of the monsoon season that is expected to hit the country soon.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said it included the setting up of disaster team operations rooms at the state and district levels, according to current needs.

“We are also prepared with our machinery and through these measures, we will ensure roads (in flood locations) will always be passable.

“If these roads are not passable, we will provide information regarding alternative routes that are available as a guide for rescue teams to use to help (flood victims), especially those carrying medical and food supplies,” he said.

He told reporters this on Thursday (Aug 11) after visiting the site of the slope collapse in Jalan Bentong-Gua Musang here under the Jelajah FTRoadpedia Zon Timur 3.0 programme organised by the ministry.

Also present were ministry secretary-general Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman and Public Works Department director-general Datuk Seri Ir Mohamad Zulkefly Sulaiman.

Fadillah said the ministry’s focus was not only on states frequently hit by floods, such as on the East Coast, but all other states with the potential of being inundated based on history.

Meanwhile, commenting on the slope collapse at Jalan Bentong-Gua Musang, he said the repair work, which took six months, was fully completed on July 19 at a total cost of RM4.5 million.

“The slope collapse on the Federal Road Section 85.7 Jalan Bentong-Gua Musang occurred due to floods in that location last December and, alhamdulillah, repair works have been completed,” he said.

The three-day Jelajah FTRoadpedia Zon Timur programme began today with an expedition to three states, namely Pahang, Kelantan and Perak, to review post-flood infrastructure repairs, Federal Road maintenance and KKR public infrastructure projects. – Bernama