KUALA LUMPUR: The Civil Defence Force is on standby mode to deploy special teams for search and rescue operations and provide emergency assistance to affected victims of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar.
Its chief commissioner, Datuk Aminurrahim Mohamed, said it is currently waiting for official instruction from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) to begin operations.
The Civil Defence Force squad, he said, is equipped with personnel trained in disaster management, including medical officers, rescuers and logistics experts.
“We are fully prepared to assist the people of Myanmar affected by this disaster.
“Our team is equipped with specialised tools to carry out search and rescue operations and deliver emergency aid swiftly and effectively,” he said in a statement.
He added that the team is also equipped with advanced assets such as the Leader Sentry to detect building stability, the Leader Hasty, which uses wireless technology to locate buried victims, and the Lighting Drone, which functions as emergency lighting and video surveillance during night operations.
Earlier today, Wisma Putra announced that a 10-member team from Nadma was deployed to Myanmar to assist in relief efforts after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country yesterday. (LINK:
A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, which the death toll topping 1,000 people to date.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude early afternoon tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres away in Bangkok.
ENDS
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