ALL activities for about 35,000 residents in the Marudi district and another 15,000 in Baram have come to a halt, as floods worsen and water reaches waist-levels inside longhouses and kampung homes.
Society for Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak (Scrips) today said the heavy rain and floods have spread swiftly from the middle parts of Baram into the Marudi district.
Scrips coordinator for northern Sarawak Michael Ding today said rivers had burst their banks, with the flood situation being made worse by high tides.
Not only are the people of the middle Baram district affected, but also the riverine population along Sungai Baram and Apoh-Tutoh river tributaries, as well as the Marudi-Tinjar localities, he said.
"The situation is very bad as the floods have cut off all road access and the water level is already at waist level inside the longhouses and kampungs.
"Rescue teams from the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department, the police and Sarawak River Boards have arrived in most flooded areas and are helping the victims," he said.
Ding is himself a local native from a Kuala Tutoh riverine longhouse.
He said Marudi district, with a population of about 35,000 is also flooded now.
"Marudi town is flooded, along with the riverine kampungs and longhouses located along Sungai Marudi and Sungai Tinjar," he said.
Information from the Marudi Fire and Rescue Station confirmed that even the Marudi to Miri road links are flooded.
These areas are in the Baram parliamentary constituency which is as big as the state of Pahang.
There are three state constituents inside the Baram parliamentary seat namely Telang Usan, Mulu and Marudi.
In Telang Usan, the populated settlements badly flooded are Long Panai, Long Bemang, Long Loyang, Long Letai, Long Sobeng, Long Laput, Long Jegan, and Long Teran plus the schools in these localities.
Yesterday, the State Disaster Management Committee said it is sending 10,000 personnel from uniformed agencies to face the year-end landas season in Sarawak which is equivalent to the monsoon in the east coast states of the peninsular. - October 12, 2024
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