A car caught in the flood at Jalan Labuk in Sandakan.
KOTA KINABALU: Most low lying areas in Sabah's east coast Sandakan were hit by flash floods following non-stop heavy rains since 8.30am Thursday (Jan 16).
The areas affected were within Sandakan town, suburban housing estates as well as the district's outskirts villages.
The floods left many vehicles stranded along the road with traffic coming to a near standstill.
Firemen also helped rescue a woman and her three children from a house in Batu 12 Jalan Labuk after they were trapped in the floods at about 1.30pm
Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station chief Severinus Mohd Nidzam Sainkui said they also received a distress call to assist a mini-bus with school students trapped in the floods at Jalan Kampung Gum Gum at Batu Sapi area.
"There was a minibus carrying school students that was stuck on the flooded road, but was successfully towed to safety by a lorry.
"All the students involved were reported to be safe," he said, adding that they were continuing to monitor flood areas.
The Civil Defence Force attended to at least five fallen trees at separate locations between 10am to 2pm.
Mudslides were also reported at a few places, including along the hilly side of Taman Indah Jaya Phase 3.
There were no reports of any casualties from the floods.
The flood waters had begun receding late Thursday evening with rains easing after 3pm.
