KUALA LUMPUR: Ready-to-eat food and bottled water should be top of the list for the flood victims, said National Security Council (NSC) disaster management secretary Mohd Ariff Baharom.
He said many people had been mobilising donations from the public to the victims but highlighted that the items must be both helpful and useable.
He said it was important to give ready-eat-food like biscuits, power bars, serunding and canned food as the people did not have any cooking equipments to prepare meals.
“Many people give but with the current flood situation, it is better to provide ready-to-eat food.
“This is unlike the normal flood evacuation situation where there is a cooking team at the centres, although some are still able to, many have lost electrical supply, practically stranded on an island,” he told the New Straits Times.
Ariff also said NSC was exploring the idea of using airdrops to send food and clean water to those stranded in areas inaccessible due to floods.
He said airdrops might be the only available solution as they were unable to enter via boats, nor helicopters due to lack of landing space.
He also said two other important things that should be given focus by organisations and the public were power generators and water purifier kits or tablets.
Although armed forces and NSC had mobilised 40 generator sets to assist Kelantan hospitals, more were needed due to shortage of electrical supply.
“Power shortage would cause even more trouble as victims and rescue respondents alike would not be able to charge their mobile phones, hindering communication with the outside world,” he said.
He also said water purification kits or tablets were critical due to the importance of clean water.
NSC had worked with the Women, Family and Community Development ministry to identify what are the things needed most this critical time, adding that they have most of it in stock but more donations would be very much welcomed, he added.