KOTA MARUDU: Firefighters rescued a woman and her two children – a 20-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter – who were trapped by floods in Kg Langkon Thursday morning.
The three were found clinging on to a cluster of banana trees at 6am.
A team of four firefighters, led by PBK II KUP Saifuddin Samudin, was on its way to Kg Tigaman for a routine inspection when they were informed of the incident by another child of the woman.
Upon receiving the information, the firefighters immediately took action to rescue the trapped family.
They successfully pulled the victims to safety by using ropes and transported them to a relative’s house.
All three were reported to be in stable condition after the rescue.
Following the incident, the Fire Department continued monitoring several flood-affected areas in the district since Wednesday.
In SANDAKAN, heavy rain since Wednesday caused flooding in several areas, leading to the opening of two temporary evacuation centres (PPS) in the district.
District Disaster Management Committee Chairman-cum-Sandakan Municipal Council President (MPS) President Walter Kenson said the two PPS are Masjid Nurul Iman in Kampung Pertanian Batu 25, which houses four heads of households (KIR) with 13 evacuees from the village, and Masjid Nur Iman in Kampung Sungai Memanjang which shelters 28 KIR with 119 evacuees.
On Thursday, Walter visited both PPS alongside Sandakan District Civil Defence Officer, Captain (PA) Sulaiman Salama.
He also distributed food aid to the affected victims on behalf of the national disaster management authorities and received updates from relevant agencies on the current situation.
Walter expressed appreciation to the District Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the People's Volunteer Corps (RELA), the Social Welfare Department and all agencies involved in assisting the flood victims.
Meanwhile, several roads in Beluran, Kudat, Pitas and Kota Marudu districts were cut off Thursday due to flooding caused by continuous heavy rain on Wednesday night.
The Sabah Public Works Department (JKR), in a statement, said CH3.68 of Jalan Pekan Sungai-Sungai in Beluran is impassable to all vehicles due to an overflowing river. Currently, no alternative routes are available.
“In Kudat, Jalan Sebayan is inaccessible at CH0.15 and CH2.8 because of the flooding. While there is an alternative route via Jalan Sebayan Nangka for CH0.15, no detour is available for CH2.8,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, CH4.44 of Jalan Pinapak in Pitas and CH125 of Jalan Kota Kinabalu-Kudat in Kota Marudu are also cut off due to rising river levels, and no alternative routes are currently available.
In addition, CH0.32 of Jalan Panikuan Toporoi in Kudat is only accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles, while CH0.42 of Jalan Pantai Delima in Pitas can only be used by heavy vehicles due to flooding from the continuous heavy rain.
