SEPANG, 28 Feb 2018:
The Civil Defence Emergency Response Team (CDERT) responsible for managing disaster at the community level now has more than 38,000 volunteers, said Civil Defence Force chief commissioner Datuk Azmy Yahya.
He said the number was generated through the establishment of 1,790 CDERTs at the community and village levels throughout the country since the setting up of CDERT in March 2006.
This development saw the Civil Defence Force’s preparedness in managing disasters at the community level before the arrival of government aid agencies, he said.
“All CDERT members are trained in specific expertise according to the needs or risks of disasters such as floods or drowning,” he said after launching the Sepang disaster management committee here yesterday.
Azmy said the CDERTs would be extended to all communities including in the city and at companies in line with its role as the earliest teams to manage a disaster.
He is aiming to ensure that 10% of the country’s population became members of the CDERTs.
Azmy said he’s confident of meeting the government’s target to increase the number of Civil Defence Force volunteers to three million people by the end of this year.
“Based on the significant increase in the number of volunteers from just about 900,000 at the beginning of last year to 2.1 million currently, we are confident the target of three million is achievable.”
– Bernama