KOTA BELUD – About 4,000 residents are in dire straits after the only road link to five villages near here was cut off by the collapse of a bridge yesterday following continuous heavy rains since Monday.
A farmer from Kg Sayap, Sinim Embom, 58, said her family had planned to buy items for the wedding of a relative but the disaster disrupted their preparations.
“We are forced to postpone the wedding. The incident also brought difficulty to the villagers as it was their only route to town.
“It has badly affected us, especially farmers who have to ferry their produce to town every day,” she said here today.
A resident from Kg Talungan, James Taiman, 69, said the incident at 2pm prevented all vehicles from going to the villages.
“The bridge collapse made it impossible for any vehicles to reach Kg Nahaba, Talungan, Terintidon, Tegudon, and Kg Sayap, which have almost 4,000 residents,” said the trader.
Another villager from Kg Nahaba, Serupi Lambang, 46, said he hoped that the authorities could immediately build a concrete bridge to replace the collapsed one.
“The bridge which collapsed was dilapidated and should have been replaced a long time ago. The bridge is crucial as it is the only link to town,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sabah State Disaster Management Committee, in a statement, said the flood evacuation centre at Dewan Terbuka Kg Saga in Tenom was closed this afternoon.
Five centres are still open in Tenom housing 333 victims from 124 families and two are open in Beaufort holding 352 victims from 95 families.
The number of flood victims dropped to 685 people from 219 families this morning compared to 707 people from 323 families yesterday evening, said the statement. – Bernama, May 13, 2022
