KUCHING: Non-stop heavy rain, which is expected to last until today, has caused numerous low-lying areas, roads and villages to be inundated yesterday (Feb 28) in the southern part of Sarawak.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has warned of continuous rain at several areas in the state starting Monday until today (March 1).
It said among the areas involved include Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah and Bintulu (Tatau and Bintulu).
According to the Civil Defense Force (APM) and the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), the districts that have been affected by thunderstorms and heavy rain yesterday, are Kuching, Bau and Padawan.
It is understood that flash floods occurred in the wee hours of yesterday from 1am onwards.
In Kuching, the affected villages and residential areas were Kampung Batu Kitang Jaya, Kampung Sungai Maong, Kampung Paroh / Sejijak, Kampung Kudei, Kampung Astana Lot, Kampung Sungai Laruh Taman Hussein and Jalan Bampfylde.
Aside from that, Jalan Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman in Petra Jaya, Jalan Sungai Moyan in Batu Kawa and the road between Malihah and Matang Jaya were also flooded.
Whereas in Bau, the affected areas were Kampung Opar, Kampung Tanjung Batu and Siniawan town. The affected access roads are that heading to Kampung Bau Lama and to Kampung Segubang.
As for Padawan district, numerous villages were hit by flood waters such as Kampung Punau, Kampung Sumur Bunuk, Kampung Benuk, Kampung Sikog, Kampung Jambu, Kampung Giam, Kampung Bratan, Kampung Bawang and Kampung Datuk Landeh.
Other than villages, the access roads to Kampung Grait and Kampung Git, Jalan Puncak Borneo, were also cut off and deemed impassable by vehicles.
Residential areas such as Taman Paradise Mile 9 and Kampung Asah Mile 16, Jalan Penrissen were also flooded yesterday morning.
Despite the floods occurring in the said areas, the authorities did not carry out a lot of operations to bring people to temporary relief centres (PPS).
At 3pm yesterday, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) announced that there were a total of 127 flood victims seeking shelter at three PPS namely Balai Raya Kampung Opar and Dewan Perdana, Bau fire station in Bau and Nur Hidayah Surau in Kampung Batu Kitang Jaya.
The affected victims are from Kampung Opar, Kampung Tanjung Batu and Kampung Batu Kitang Jaya.
According to the disaster guidelines shared by Sarawak Bomba, the community especially those in low-lying areas, should always be vigilant in bad weather conditions and be prepared to evacuate their homes when water levels rise.
The guideline states that the public should know where are the flood relief centres if their housing area is prone to floods, before a disaster happens.
In addition, they should also prepare an emergency bag with food, clean water, medicines, important documents and daily necessities, in the event of an evacuation.
They should also make sure the entire family is aware about the evacuation plan and set a meet-up location for the whole family, in case they get separated.
People are also advised to identify higher grounds in their respective areas and to stay abreast with the latest information on the radio or television.
