PENAMPANG: Thousands of residents are affected by the floods that struck the district here last night after the main river, Sungai Moyog, broke its banks.
At least 50 villages were hit as the water level remains high with roads passable only for heavy vehicles as of 8am.
The District Natural Disaster Relief committee was activated last night and teams were set up to extend assistance to flood victims.
Near Donggongon town, the district’s main township, hundreds of motorists were forced to either leave their vehicles by the roadside or sleep as they wait for the flood waters to subside.
Julian Din, 38, from Inobong said he did not want to risk driving his car through the waist deep waters at the main Donggongon roundabout.
‘I rather wait. I was here since last night about 11pm. We also saw few vehicles stalled at the roundabout,” said the hotel employee when met at about 7am by the roadside.
Julie Tan, in her 20s, said there were many who were stranded near Kivatu and Kasigui, two locations less than 3km from the roundabout.
“We were stuck in those two areas since 8pm last night and now here,” said Tan who was with two friends from Tambunam where she spent the Kaamatan holidays the last two days.
‘I don’t think I can go to work today,” she said echoing the predicament many residents in the district are facing today.
Several other west coast districts, including Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Papar, Putatan and Kota Belud were inundated following the heavy downpour last night.
Reports of villages cut off from road links, people trapped in their homes as well as those evacuating their homes have poured in as the authorites such as the Fire and Rescue department, Civil Defence Force, police, local authorities, Rela and other agencies activated their relief teams to reach out.
Relief centres were also opened in all the affected districts.