PASIR MAS, Dec 27 — The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) has applied for an allocation of RM33 million to purchase essential items in preparation for the second wave of floods.

Deputy Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said the application was made to the Ministry of Finance as supply at its storage depots as well as forwarding bases is running low.

She said the decision was made in a virtual special flood coordination meeting that she chaired this morning.

She said the allocation would be used to buy supplies for flood victims such as blankets, mats, dry food, disposable diapers and so on.

"The goods will be stored at forwarding bases in high-risk states including Sabah and Sarawak,” she added.

She told this to reporters after visiting flood-hit areas in Kampung Tersang and Lanchang in  Rantau Panjang here today.

Siti Zailah who is also Rantau Panjang Member of Parliament said the ministry had to send items from Kelantan to assist victims in Pahang floods and Kedah to victims in Selangor as both states had run out of supplies.

Meanwhile, Siti Zailah said the Social Welfare Department (JKM) is facing a staff shortage as many of them also became victims of the flooding.

"Currently we have limited staff. For example, in Temerloh, Pahang we have 88 temporary relief centres but there are only 37 JKM staff, some of whom are also affected by floods while in Selangor we have 47 personnel but only 15 can work.  Due to this, we need help from other agencies as well as from volunteers,” she added. — Bernama