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SANDAKAN – Floods and strong winds in Sabah in the last two days have claimed their first life when a 28-year-old fisherman was found dead yesterday after he went missing in Kuala Penubukan in Paitan on New Year’s Eve.
Beluran district police chief Supt Kasim Muda said Rajis Nawang, 28, was found near a mangrove area about 1.5km from where he was last seen.
Meanwhile, an estate worker in a different location in Beluran, identified as Kaerul, 26, was also reported missing on Friday. It is believed that he was swept away by strong currents while trying to cross the Kg Kinadaan-Matanggal road.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
In Beluran, six relief centres have been activated for flood victims from 20 villages (10 from Tagas-Tagas, seven from Telupid and three from Paitan).
As of 4pm today, the relief centres are housing 130 victims from 30 families. All the villages are now cut-off from the main road.
The floods and bad weather this time have affected Sabah’s interior and east coast districts.
At the time of writing, Sabah also opened temporary relief centres in Kota Marudu (7), Sandakan (2) and one in Pitas.
In Sandakan, district police chief Mohd Azhar Hamin warned residents along Sg Segaliud to stay alert as the water levels are at a dangerous level.
While Sg Memanjang has subsided, he asked the residents to move to the temporary relief centres at Nur Iman Kg Memanjang and Al Rahman Kg Segaliud mosques.
As of this morning, 97 victims from 14 families have been relocated to these centres.
Currently, personnel from the civil defence force are still evacuating victims from the inundated areas. – The Vibes, January 2, 2022
