300 tonnes of waste collected in flood clean-up

JOHOR BARU: More than 300 tonnes of flood waste have been collected in Kota Tinggi alone during the post-flood clean-up efforts led by the Johor Southern Volunteers.

Johor deputy state secretary (Sports, Youth, and Volunteering) Datuk On Jabbar @ Jaafar said that the five-day operation started last Friday until yesterday, involving 3,006 volunteers.

“The waste was collected at the flood-affected houses and the inundated part of Kota Tinggi town in Jalan Niaga.

“It varied from electrical appliances, furniture, and general waste collected and sent to a landfill at Batu 4, Jalan Kota Tinggi-Kluang.

“As of Tuesday, we have cleaned 3,877 premises, including 1,961 houses, 1,886 shoplots, seven mosques and religious houses, four schools, five multi-purpose halls, and seven kindergartens,” he said when contacted.

The volunteers were from 10 different NGOs that were also aided by students from eight education institutions, eight government agencies and all local councils in the state, he added.

In the aftermath: Southern Volunteers members and army personnel cleaning up discarded waste in Kampung Tembioh, Kota Tinggi.

The welfare and safety of all the volunteers were also taken care of and closely monitored to ensure that they were fit to conduct the clean-up operations, he said.

“Our clean-up areas were mostly done along the villages and houses along Sungai Johor,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ihsan Johor chief executive officer Farrah Faridah Baptist said that her association has helped channel aid to 1,500 families in Johor Baru, Mersing, Kota Tinggi, and Kluang.

“We started our operation from the first wave in the first week of January, where we distributed 600 sleeping kits donated by Yayasan TM to the affected districts.

“We have also distributed 300 dignity and hygiene kits to 300 women in Kota Tinggi courtesy of Yayasan Hasanah. There have been cases where flood victims could not get their hands on sanitary pads.

“We have ongoing baby items and diaper aid distribution donated by Yayasan UEM.

“Most of the items donated to flood victims are food and drinks but baby items are often not on the list,” she said.

Farrah added that her association has also requested items for the post-flood operations from their donors to help the flood victims clean their houses.

“We proposed cleaning detergent, brooms, wipers, bleaching liquid and other cleaning items that will help get rid of any stains or mud in the houses that have been flooded,” she said.