KOTA KINABALU: The recent flooding of Sungai Pampang in Keningau was not caused by alleged logging in the Crocker Range Catchment area, said Sabah Forestry Department.
Its Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Sam Mannan, in a statement, assured the public that the allegations, which were making its rounds on social media, were not true and were baseless accusations.
“The source of Sungai Pampang originates in the Crocker Range Park (140,000 ha), which consists of largely pristine forest areas that have never been logged.
“There are patches of encroachments and shifting cultivations leading to the park for agriculture purposes such as rubber and rice. The river also flows through various settlements and eventually passes through Keningau Town.
“During the dry season, the river is merely a creek with weak water flow,” he said.
Nevertheless, Mannan said convenient access to the riverine and the flat terrain has attracted squatters to illegally build houses on its banks and even inside the river itself.
He added notices were given to squatters to vacate the banks and to dismantle the various settlements since the Tropical Storm Greg in 1996.
“The area is unsuitable for human occupation and it is a riparian reserve. Unfortunately, it appears that nothing happened (referring to the storm) and the squatter settlements reappeared and continued to expand.
“The locating of houses or huts on the banks is an invitation for disaster as floods are a natural phenomenon there. The 1996 event was an example with many loss of lives,” he stressed.
Mannan noted the Crocker Range was the most important and largest source of water for the west coast and the interiors.
However, with the incessant rains, its water holding capacity would have been exceeded and excess water would have to be dispersed into its river channels, including Sungai Pampang.
“This is the large source of water that caused the flooding. It is a repeat of 1996.
“The excess flow from surface run off is a natural phenomenon but building houses inside or beside a river, is not,” Mannan explained.
“The Forestry Department refutes the allegation of flooding caused by logging in the Crocker Range Catchment. There is no such thing and we very much regret the baseless allegations,” he added.
On Dec 17, continuous heavy downpour brought flash flood to Kampung Pampang and swept away 10 houses.
During the heavy rain, the houses constructed at Sungai Pampang riverbank, collapsed and were swept away by the strong currents. However, no casualties were reported.
Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister and Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said seven houses were built illegally by foreigners.
Following the event, the Keningau MP said housing structures built alobg the river would be removed to prevent untoward incidents.
On Boxing Day in 1996, more than 200 people who lived along the banks of Sungai Pampang were killed and at least 70 unaccounted for when Storm Greg struck the west coast and interiors of Sabah.