“There’s nothing as effective as common sense.”
That’s the message from Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Khadijah Ameen, as she continues to warn motorists about driving through floodwaters.
This, she said, could cause a rescue effort that could’ve been used elsewhere in a disaster.
“If you choose ignorance, you don’t put only yourself at risk; you risk our entire operations.”
Speaking to the media following a meeting with Disaster Managers from all 14 Regional Corporations, Minister Ameen emphasised the importance of not venturing into floodwaters.
She mentioned an incident earlier this month where personnel had to be rerouted to engage in searching for the drivers of flooded vehicles.
“During the last flooding event, several cars reportedly attempted to drive through floodwaters and ended up creating an emergency that caused us to have to pull personnel, equipment, and give other support in a rescue effort that should not have happened in the first place.”
She said the Ministry has engaged the Police Service and Municipal Police to provide barriers for flooded roads, but efforts to prevent motorists from entering are sometimes futile.
“And the potential of someone drowning, a driver drowning, is a priority in terms of a rescue mission. So while we will continue as far as we can to provide barrication, we recognise that sometimes people remove barriers. People drive around the barriers and still go in the floodwaters. People steal the barriers.”
Minister Ameen said they are contemplating whether to implement heavy concrete barriers but noted that this would require different manpower, resources, and trucks, as opposed to placing steel barriers.
In addition to infrastructure, the Ministry is investing in 268 new shelter managers who have been trained to support emergency operations.
“I want you to know that these people are volunteers. They may not be available at all times, but our investment in training and training them to be on the same level when we are ready to operate is important.”
In the event there is flooding, the Ministry is working on post-flood assessments, where a new app is aiming to speed up the process of getting relief to affected families.
“I have challenged every Regional Corporation for us to reduce the number of days it takes for every flood victim in every region to be assessed.”
The app is shared with the Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services, which allows that Ministry to immediately receive all information when uploaded and to begin the processing of applications for flood grants.