PENAMPANG: The Sabah Meteorological Department is monitoring the movement of a newly developed typhoon in the southern Philippines sea area.
According to a viralled social media post, the new tropical threat, believed to be stronger than the existing Typhoon Kai-tak or Urduja, is predicted to hit Sabah from Dec 22 until 24.
The post also stated the typhoon has a strength similar to the Storm Greg that hit the state on Christmas Day in 1996, wrecking houses and killing thousands of people.
State meteorological director Azemi Daud, when contacted, said it was still an early stage of prediction, adding the typhoon was at low pressure centre.
“It does not have a name yet. We cannot determine the strength but we are monitoring its trail and location every three hours,” he said.
On the Typhoon Kai-tak, Azemi said the storm was located at north of Sabah in the Palawan area.
“At the moment, it is moving northwesterly. It will not reach Sabah mainland,” he said.
Following the Typhoon Kai-tak, Azemi said Sabah and Sarawak were affected by heavy rain, which was expected to last until tomorrow.
The downpour had brought flood to Kota Belud and Penampang districts, causing villagers to be evacuated to temporary relief centres. The centre in Kota Belud was closed yesterday as the situation improved.
This morning, many Penampang residents were trapped as roads leading to several villages in the district were inundated with floodwater following continuous rain since late last night.
The water level of Sungai Moyog here rose and spilled over to low lying areas. Roads leading to Panglima Banting, Kampung Pinapah Kondis, Kampung Penampang Proper, and Kampung Sugud were impassable.
Other affected villages were Kibabaig, Nambazan, Maag, Tanaki Inobong, Kolopis, Tuavon, Kambau, Dungkahang, and Kituau.
Firefighters and civil defence personnel were sent to these villages to assist in transporting the people to safer ground.