Floods worsen in Sabah

The Star 18 Jan 10;

KOTA KINABALU: The number of flood evacuees in the state has nearly tripled from 850 to more than 2,600 as more districts reported being hit by flooding.

The latest district is Telupid in the east coast, where 600 people from six villages had to be moved to relief centres.

In Kota Belud, 398 people had been evacuated to the relief centres at the district’s community hall and SMK Taun Gusi.

In Kinabatangan, 462 people have been evacuated while the northern Kota Marudu district saw the largest number of people affected, with 1,177 from 23 villages having to move to relief centres.

Kota Marudu district officer Luvita Kiansun said the water levels of the two major rivers there — Sungai Kanarom and Sungai Bandau — had surpassed the danger mark.

Meanwhile, the families in Sabah’s “rice bowl” districts of Kota Belud and Kota Marudu could only watch helplessly as their padi crop — which was on the verge of being harvested — was flooded after five days of incessant rain.

State Assistant Minister of Community Development and Consumers Affairs Datuk Herbert Timbon Lagadan said the affected families could only hope the rain will stop so they can salvage some of the harvest.

“In areas like Mukim Kalawat, more than 12ha of the padi fields have been flooded. The farmers are praying they can salvage about 40% of their harvest.

“If the rain doesn’t stop, then all their crops will be wiped out. This is the second year in a row they are facing such a disaster,” he said.

Sarawak hit by rain and winds
Stephen Then, The Star 16 Jan 10;

MIRI: Travelling into the remote regions of Sarawak is now risky following days of heavy rain that have turned rural roads into treacherous glaciers of mud.

Strong wind and heavy rain have been battering the coastal and interior regions of the state since early this week.

Rural folks in various parts of the interior of northern Sarawak have reported that all rural land links across the logging concession zones have become treacherous following the heavy rain.

The timber roads have become streams of mud and one wrong slip may cause a tragedy.

Owners of four-wheel-drive vehicles have cut back or stopped services during the heavy rain and this has disrupted the transport link with urban centres.

Many people in the interior settlements are finding it difficult to go to urban centres for food supplies as some gravel roads are knee-deep in mud and in some parts, with rocks on hillslopes coming loose.

Former councillor Ding Laeng, also a community elder in Long Panai in Ulu Baram district, told The Star that interior folks were worried it might be the beginning of another wet spell.

“It is very difficult now to travel along rural roads. If it rains non-stop for a few hours, the roads become too slippery even for a four-wheel-drive.

“Timber trucks run only when the weather permits. Very heavy rain results in a standstill of everything, even logging.

“We (in Long Panai) are worried the weather may become worse. Dark clouds are looming every day,” he said.

Long Panai is located 250km inland from here.

Elsewhere in the interior Sarawak, similar spells of heavy rain have occurred over the week.

A check with the police in Long Lama, 350km away, showed there had not been any reports of floods yet.

“It has been raining non-stop but the volume is not heavy. Rivers linking Long Lama to the upstream longhouses are still below danger levels, but the roads are very wet and risky for light vehicles,” said a spokesman.

In Belaga district (central Sarawak), Catholic church workers are monitoring the situation in remote settlements, particularly the Penan villages near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border as severe floods may completely cut off the villagers.

Reverend Father Sylvester Ding of the Belaga Catholic Parish said on Thursday that he was keeping constant touch with Penan elders all over Belaga.

“The food situation is okay. We (church workers) still travel to the remote settlements when the weather permits, to find out the latest situation,” he said.

The Sarawak Meteorological Department, meanwhile, has warned folks in the state to brace for winds of up to 60km per hour and cautioned coastal folks to keep away from the sea as waves of between 3.5m to 5m are dangerous for all boats.