JOHOR BARU: The authorities, including the Fire and Rescue Department, are presently monitoring some 254 hotspots for possible landslips, particularly in the wake of the current wet spell.

Its director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said those living in hilly or near slopes should be vigilant and alert the authorities if they were to notice any soil movements.

He said the hotspots were mainly based on details given by other agencies such Mineral and Geoscience Department.

Sabah has the highest with 36, followed by Johor; Kelantan, Pahang; Terengganu and Perak with 25 each; Sarawak and Selangor (21 each); Negri Sembilan (19); Penang (13); Kedah (8); Melaka (6); Perlis (4) and Kuala Lumpur (1).

He said last year, they received a total of 5,840 calls comprising various kinds of disasters including fallen trees with 4,825 calls and 752 for floods.

“For the first seven months of this year, we attended to 117 landslide cases which resulted in eight deaths,” he said.

In 2022, the department attended to 234 such calls with 38 deaths.

Nor Hisham also said the department spent RM7.49mil to purchase five urban search and rescue vehicles to help with rescue operations.

“While we monitor hotspots for possible landslides, we do not specifically track sinkholes,” he said.

He said based on reports from the Meteorological Department, it predicted that since the start of the southwest monsoon in May, the condition could bring heavy rainfall in the morning on the west coast of the peninsula and also north of Sarawak and west of Sabah.

He also urged the public to keep their children away from water bodies such as rivers, ponds, lakes and disused mining ponds due to uncertain weather conditions.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/28/eyes-on-254-hotspots-due-to-wet-spell