KOTA KINABALU – A total of 118 people in three Sabah districts were evacuated due to floods on the state’s west coast today.
This is the fourth flooding incident since September, following heavy and continuous rain since late afternoon yesterday and overnight.
Rainfall continued early this morning as well.
The Civil Defence Force, in a statement, said 188 flood victims have been moved to temporary shelters as of this afternoon.
“Sixty-six victims were in Kunak, nine in Penampang and 43 in Sipitang,” it said.
Meanwhile, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) confirmed that floods have temporarily shut down the Tenom Pangi Hydropower Station but did not disrupt power supply to the Sabah grid.
The utility firm’s chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said water overflow due to the overnight heavy rain has washed down huge boulders into the dam’s gate intake.
“For safety, SESB has shut down the hydropower station. SESB is now checking and evaluating the damage,” Yaakob said in a statement.
Photos of flooding shared on social media indicated Keningau, Penampang, Beaufort and Tenom were also hit by floods.
In Keningau, social media user Janarius Jana reported a landslide along the Keningau-Tenom road.
“The roads are now inaccessible to all vehicles,” said Janarius, adding that road users can opt for the Jalan Tenom-Sipitang road as an alternative route.
The Sabah Public Works Department also noted the landslide and categorised the disaster as “dangerous.”
The department also reported that small vehicles could not pass Kilometre 1.7 of the Beaufort-Menumbok road after it was flooded due to overflow from the Padas River. – The Vibes, November 1, 2022
