PENAMPANG – The floods that hit Sugud here on September 15 has left its villagers struggling to recover following the electricity and water supply to the area being cut off since the incident.
Some 300 residents in Kg Kodou here are still facing issues cleaning their homes that have been filled with mud and debris following the flood five days ago.
A resident who only wished to be identified as Jeffrey has described the disaster as similar to the 2004 tsunami.
“Houses, plants and vehicles were swept by mudflow that day... It’s like the tsunami in Acheh.
“What’s left is just a flat mud field that has also swept into the house.
“And, without electricity and water, it’s impossible to clean our homes . It will take us months to get our lives back to normal,” he told The Vibes.
Luckily for Jeffrey and his family, aid from numerous political parties, non-governmental organisations and generous donors has not stopped pouring since September 16.
But, as a weather alert has been issued that a fresh thunderstorm is expected later this afternoon, Jeffrey said: “We can only hope that it doesn’t flood again.”
The flooding in Sugud happened so rapidly that residents claimed it took only 30 minutes for the mud and water to rise to dangerous levels on Malaysia Day.
In the aftermath, properties were destroyed and damaged while thick mud and water rose to over 1.2m in the low-lying village, leaving hundreds further stranded in Kg Kodou.
The whole village now reeks of spoiled meat as foodstuffs in the inundated houses are rotting.
Despite the torrid circumstances, volunteers mostly from Warisan are actively helping residents to clean and clear the road at Kg Kodou.
Warisan leader Pritchard Gumbaris said the volunteer team had hired a backhoe driver to clean up the mud-filled road and utilised a water pump, which was connected to the river, to clean some of the houses in Kg Kodou.
Another resident named Dora expressed her relief at being able to return to her home.
She said mud and debris up to 1m deep had filled the house during the floods.
“We had to climb to the roof and shout for help. There has already been no telco reception since that day.
“There was nowhere for us to call out for help, and neither can we drive out because of the thick mud and floodwaters, which only receded two days after the flood,” she said.
According to Dora, she had contacted Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and the state water department as to when utilities supply would resume.
“SESB said repairs on the damaged electricity pole have already started. But it will take a couple of days until power is restored.
“While the water department is also doing their repairs, they cannot say as to when treated water supply will return,” said Dora, adding that her family are currently putting up in her sister’s house in Kobusak, which is closer to town.
Geologist expert Felix Tongkul said the flooding in Sugud was an unnatural one, saying the cleared forested area for plantation upriver could have made the soil more susceptible to erosion, and thus made the problem worse for those living near the Sugud catchment area.
Kg Kodou is a low-lying village adjacent to Ulu Papar, an terrain that stretches across Penampang, Papar and Tambunan.
“The flood in Sugud was mainly caused by the extremely heavy and nearly four hours of continuous rain.
“This unusual volume of rain made the Sugud catchment area supersaturated with water, causing the soil to lose strength and prone to slope failure, producing numerous landslides,” he said.
Tongkul said these landslides eventually caused the mud floods, which in turn flushed wood, rocks and debris into many parts of Sugud.
Another villager who only wished to be named as Tom saw his house destroyed by the floods.
“My house was swept away by the floods that day. Now I’m staying at my brother’s house.
“I have nothing now,” said Tom, adding that he was outside his home when it was swept away by raging currents.
Tom’s house was built along the riparian reserve and when he saw waters beginning to rise on the floor, he was forced to abandon the house.
Close to 30 villages in Penampang were hit during the September 15 floods with Sugud-Timpangoh and Sugud-Maang being two of the worst hit.
Two people had initially gone missing in the flooding, with one was found on the same night and the other on September 16.
A disabled 61-year-old man was found 19km from his home by villagers while a 12-year-old returned home a day after he was swept away by strong currents.
Both victims claimed they had hung on to a tree and suffered minor bruises after being hit by debris swept by the downhill currents. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
