PENAMPANG: Many residents had little time to save their belongings as floods struck low lying areas across the district, inundating 18 villages on Thursday night.
Kampung Dabak resident Francis Xavier Kinjin said many were caught by surprise as water rose rapidly later in the afternoon before the main river, Sungai Moyog, broke its banks at about 7pm.
“It was fast this time around,” said the 33-year-old tuck-shop operator, who was born without legs, when met cleaning his mother’s riverside home from his wheelchair.
“Normally it takes about six hours or more before the water would reach my mother’s house but this time it took less than two hours. We were not able to save many of our belongings because it happened fast,” he said.
Water levels remain high in most of the affected villages and Francis described the floods as the worst since the 1999 floods.
A total of 36 people from 12 families were evacuated to the State Cultural Centre here while many opt to rent nearby hotels or spent the night in their cars by the roadside or at homes of friends or relatives on higher grounds.
District Officer Luvita Koisun said the rainfall was recorded at 168mm and described it as abnormal.
“Normal rainfall distribution is usually between 35 and 40 mm, but the rain yesterday reached to 168m,” she said after chairing Natural Disaster Committee meeting at Penampang Cultural Centre here.
Present were Penampang member of parliament Darell Leiking, Moyog assemblyman Jennifer Lasimbang and Kapayan assemblyman Janie Lasimbang, as well as Health and People’s Wellbeing minister Stephen Wong.
Janie said there is a need to put early warning system in place when natural disaster occurs and pointed out as it is there are sirens placed at two locations along the river to warn the people.
She also said the government will look into long term development plans for a flood mitigation system to be put in place.
Heavy rain on Thursday brought floods in six districts along the west coast of Sabah. The affected districts were here, Kota Kinabalu, Putatan, Papar, Tuaran and Kota Belud.