KOTA KINABALU, Sept 2 — Incessant rain that started late Tuesday and lasted until yesterday has caused 45 villages in Beaufort and 15 villages in Membakut to be hit by floods.
The Beaufort District Disaster Management Secretariat, in a statement today said no one has been evacuated so far, however as a precautionary measure, one relief centre has been opened at Dewan DSP Mohd Dun Banir.
He said among the affected villages in Beaufort were Binunuk, Balibata, Simpang Empat, Bakalau, Sungkadan, Melalugus, Batandok Lubak, Melati, Lumatai; while in Membakut the affected areas included Kampung Bambangan, Sinoko, Sindok, Baitam Ulu, Baitam Laut, and Baitam Baru.
“Continuous downpour in Beaufort, Tenom and the Ulu Membakut area has led to the rise in water level of Sungai Membakut as well as Sungai Padas in two districts.
“Two gates of the Pangi Hydro Dam had to be opened to reduce the quantity of water in the dam, causing the water in Sungai Padas to reach a dangerous level and following that, the Disaster Operations Control Centre was activated yesterday,” it said.
The floods also affected 59 roads in the districts, including Jalan Kampung Binunuk, Jalan Pekan Lama Membakut, Jalan Kampung Baitam Baru, Jalan Kampung Suasa and Jalan Kampung Kangsa.
Also hit were 11 schools, including three in the Membakut district, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Bambangan, Sekolah Kebangsaan Sinoko and Sekolah Kebangsaan Pekan Membakut.
Sources: BERNAMA