MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 25 Mar 16;
KOTA KINABALU: Rain in parts of Sabah early Friday brought some relief to residents affected by water rationing but not to those in areas severely hit by the drought in Pulau Banggi and Pitas peninsular.
Moderate rains lasting three to five hours fell in the state capital as well as other areas in the west coast and east coast Tawau and interior areas of Sandakan.
However, no rain fell in Pulau Banggi and Pitas where state relief agencies are supplying water as the rivers and wells have dried up.
Sabah Meteorological Department acting director Lim Ze Hui said the rains were not yet a sign of the end of the prolonged El Nino effect which had induced the dry spell across the state over the last two months.
Lim said the rains were temporary although more rain were forecasted during the inter-monsoon season towards the end of March and beginning of April.
"We would expect more rains than what was experienced in February and March but it will not be that much,’’ he said in explaining that though the El Nino effect was weakening but could still be felt in April and May.
The dry spell has triggered bush, orchard and jungle fires in many areas and damaged crops apart from creating water shortages to hundreds of villages relying on rivers and wells.
Efforts are underway to send water by barges to assist villagers in Pulau Banggi and Pulau Sebatik off Tawau while water tankers were being deployed to kampungs that have run out of water.
Water woes persist in Sabah’s Pulau Banggi and Pitas despite rainfall
MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 25 Mar 16;
KOTA KINABALU: Rains in parts of Sabah early Friday brought some relief to some areas though no rainfall was recorded in the severely hit northern areas of Pulau Banggi and Pitas peninsula.
Moderate rains lasting nearly three to five hours during the wee hours were experienced in the state capital as well as other areas in the west coast and well as east coast Tawau and interior areas of Sandakan.
Meteorologists said that within the west coast, rains occurred between 2am and 7.30am while showers were experienced between Thursday midnight and 3am, bringing relief to Tawau residents who were subjected to severe water rationing for over a month.
However, there were no signs of relief for northern Sabah folks in Pitas and Pulau Banggi where state relief agencies are beginning to send in water supplies as river sources, gravity water feeds and wells have all dried up.
Sabah Meteorological Department acting director Lim Ze Hui, however, said that the rain was not yet a sign of the end of the prolonged El Nino induced dry spell that has hit the state over the last two months.
Lim said that the relief was just temporary though they forecasted more rain as they head into the inter-monsoon season towards the end of March and beginning of April.
"We would expect more rains then what was experienced in February and March but it will not be that much,’’ he said, adding that though the El Nino effect was weakening, its impact would still be felt in April and May.
"There will be less then the normal rains," he added.
The dry spell has triggered bush, orchard and jungle fires in many areas as well as damaging crops and creating water shortages to hundreds of villages which rely on traditional water sources from rivers and wells.
Efforts are underway to send water by barges to assist severely hit villagers in Pulau Banggi and Pulau Sebatik off Tawau while water tankers were being deployed to kampungs that have run out of water.
Sabah finally gets some rain
KRISTY INUS AND ROY GOH New Straits Times 25 Mar 16;
KOTA KINABALU: Some parts of Sabah finally experienced light rainfall since last night till early hours today, after nearly two months of dry spell due to the El Nino season.
The drizzle was reported to occur around areas in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan at the west coast between 1am and 6am.
Kunak, Tawau, Ranau and Keningau districts were also reported to experience some wet weather starting 7pm last night.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has directed the State Disaster Relief Committee to monitor and implement measures to overcome water shortage.
The committee is headed by State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman.
He also reminded district level Disaster Relief Committees to be alert and monitor the water supply situation in their respective districts.
"The current drought has caused water shortages throughout the state especially in areas like Pekan Nabalu, Pulau Banggi, Pulau Sebatik and Pitas," he said after chairing the State cabinet meeting here today.
He said the relevant authorities such as the Water Department were doing all they can to alleviate the situation including delivering water to severely affected areas.
He also urged the public to conserve water in light of the dry spell that is expected to last till June.
"There is also a high incidence of bush and forest fires that has deteriorated our air quality.
Therefore I would also like to remind people to be responsible and not to resort to open burning that would worsen the haze," he said.
