KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is scheduled to visit flood-hit areas in Terengganu and Kelantan on Wednesday (March 2).

       “The Prime Minister will be visiting both states tomorrow. He will be announcing cash aid and other relief for those affected by the floods,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad said when replying a supplementary question raised by Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun) in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 1).

       Wan Hassan wanted to know if cash aid would be given to flood victims as well as other relief such as school uniforms for school children.

       There are 22,833 flood victims from 6,709 families in Kelantan and Terengganu housed at 236 temporary evaluation centres (PPS).

       Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) asked about long-term flood mitigation measures to be carried out in states such as Kelantan.

       He noted that the recent flooding was unusual as floods usually occur in January, not in February and March.

       He also asked if there was any way to predict such disasters before they happen.

       “As far as I know, the only time when there was forewarning before a flood occurred was during Noah’s time,” Abdul Latiff quipped.

       He added that proper planning is needed before long-term flood mitigation projects can be implemented effectively in the affected states.