MIRI – A local environmentalist has laid part of the blame on the state’s worsening floods to large-scale sand mining along riverbanks, river basins and river deltas in Sarawak’s northern interiors.
Speaking to The Vibes, Peter Kallang observed that these mining activities in ecologically sensitive areas by the rivers are becoming increasingly rampant in the region.
In fact, Kallang’s own settlement in Long Ekang has also been inundated by up to 1m of rising waters.
“The floods are already severe due to the large-scale clearing of forests for logging and plantation. The situation has worsened over the years due to sand-mining operations taking place along the river systems.
“Extracting sand is causing the riverbanks to lose their natural top layer of earth cover.
“Dredging huge amounts of sand is also causing siltation and erosion. The silt that ends up in the riverbed makes the river shallow.
“The rivers cannot handle huge amounts of rainfall anymore. All these activities are making the floods in Baram bad to worse,” he lamented.
Longhouse residents forced to hang motorbikes on high poles due to rising waters
He also shared the woes of the Long Ekang longhouse residents, who are now fighting Mother Nature itself to save their precious belongings and household items.
“Our families have to carry our electrical items up to the second floor. We even have to hang our motorbikes on high poles. These floods happen every time it rains heavily.”
At the moment, Kallang said that villagers in Long Ekang as well as those in the upper reaches of Baram have resorted to waiting for food aid.
The Welfare Department had deployed emergency food supplies to residents in 11 badly flooded localities in the Beleru and Tinjar sub-districts within northern Sarawak, located around 100km inland from Miri.
The Sarawak Public Communications Unit said that the population centres include Rumah Saba, Rumah Anthony, Rumah David and the schools where pupils are boarding in hostels.
“The food supplies are sourced from Miri. They are sent into the flooded zones using land routes and also rivers,” the unit said.
Floods two days ago reached as high as 1.8m in parts of Baram and Marudi districts as the rain continues to lash these interior northern regions of Sarawak.
Last week, the State Disaster Management Committee activated the flood relief evacuation centre in Marudi town as flood victims began fleeing their homes in the surrounding villages and longhouses once the water level started rising.
Several dozen families had been evacuated to the centre by Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Unit and Rela volunteers.
Among the badly hit settlements other than Long Ekang, Marudi, and Tinjar are Long Bemang, Long Panai, Long Benawa, and the Tutoh-Apoh basin. – The Vibes, February 2, 2022
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