KOTA KINABALU – Special Functions Minister Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad has assured Sabahans that more than 8,000 personnel from various agencies will be on standby for deployment should major floods in the state recur.
Given that more rainy days are expected due to the year-end monsoon shift, Latiff said a cabinet paper has been prepared to be presented to the federal cabinet tomorrow over the situation in Sabah following a request from the state government.
Latiff stressed that flood mitigation projects and urgent repairs will be carried out and coordinated between state and federal governments.
“There have been numerous requests from the state during my visit here. I met the chief minister and the Penampang district officer and they told me about the situation and what they want us to do.
“This (the bad weather conditions) is just the start, the transition from the southwest monsoon to the northeast monsoon, with more bad weather expected in the coming days,” he said during a press conference here today.
Latiff is in Sabah for a two-day working visit to the state and was briefed by the district office, followed by a meeting with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms on September 15 caused floods that inundated 27 villages and settlements along many parts of Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, and Putatan.
Civil Defence Force figures revealed 937 households have been affected by the flooding, with 500 households located in Sugud, Penampang.
Some 10 houses and 50 vehicles were damaged, the agency stated.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said there are over 8,000 personnel from the Civil Defence Force, Volunteer Corps, police, as well as assets ready for deployment in the event of any disasters in Sabah.
Commenting on the flooding situation in Sugud, Penampang, Latiff said a villager had told him that the floods was the worst that had ever happened in Sugud in 50 years.
Based on the assessment of the flooding in Sugud alone, he said the cost of repairs has now run up to the tune of RM13 million.
The land clearing at Sugud’s uphill area, he opined, was not done in accordance with the environment impact assessment as they were cleared by villagers.
“The flooding is not rocket science. Water will always find a way to flow. Anything that obstructs its way will cause floods," he said.
Latiff added more than 150mm of rainwater was collected in just three hours of rainfall on September 15, equal to three months’ worth of rainfall. – The Vibes, September 23, 2021
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