Helping hands: Fire and Rescue Department personnel evacuating flood victims in Penampang.
KOTA KINABALU: A woman drowned, 10 schools were closed and dozens of roads were submerged after floods wreaked havoc on six districts in west coast Sabah.A landslip along the Kota Kinabalu-Tambunan road had also cut off links to the interior following Sunday’s floods.
As at 4pm yesterday, a total of 328 people from Penampang, Tuaran and Tamparuli had been evacuated to flood relief centres.
Other affected places were the state capital’s suburbs of Inanam, Manggatal and Telipok, as well as the Sipitang and Putatan districts.
The Fire and Rescue Department received over 200 distress calls, mainly from victims who were trapped in their homes.
In Penampang, the worst-hit area about 20km from here, a woman sending food to flood victims was swept away by strong currents on Sunday night.
A total of 11 villages were flooded.
Six schools in the district had been closed due to floods, namely SK Sugut, SMK St Michael, SK St Theresa Inobong, SK Kibabaig, SK St Joseph and SJKC Yue Min.
State Education director Datuk Raisin Saidin said SK Kelatuan in Papar, SJKC Sin Boon Sindumin in Sipitang as well as SK Kauluan and SJKC Chung Hwa Tenghilan in Tuaran had also been closed.
A total of 5,077 students and 307 teachers were affected by the closure, Raisin added.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said power supply to the flooded areas, which had been shut down for safety reasons, was being restored.
Meteorologists have forecast more rain with thunderstorms in areas including Penampang, Tuaran, Papar and Kota Kinabalu.
In view of this, the rescue units, Civil Defence Force and Public Works Department have been fully mobilised.
The floods have caused millions of ringgit in losses with victims from Penampang, Manggatal and Inanam claiming that furniture, electrical appliances and household items were all damaged.
Flood victims have taken to social media to show the devastation by posting pictures of their damaged homes, submerged roads and landslides.
“Lost for words, just could not save everything,” Ben Mansul from Penampang captioned a picture of his flooded living room.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor announced a RM1,000 cash aid for each family affected by the floods, adding that the state government would also consider help for those whose homes were badly damaged.
He also ordered local authorities to take swift mitigation steps to ensure the drains were cleared.
Helping hands: Fire and Rescue Department personnel evacuating flood victims in Penampang.
The continuous rain on Sunday (June 30) flooded Sekolah Kebangsaan Sugud in Penampang.
Forces of nature: (Top) Continuous rainfall caused a landslip that left a long stretch collapsed along the Kota Kinabalu-Tambunan road. (Right) An aerial view of flood-hit Donggongon town in Penampang.
Tough times: Residents of an apartment in Penampang inspecting their cars which were damaged by floodwaters.
