PENAMPANG: More than 80 residents in Kampung Sogumau Madsiang along Jalan Penampang-Tambunan here are hoping they will be located to a safer spot after landslides struck there twice during the continuous rain last week.
The villagers make up a combination of 15 families who built their houses along the roadside there since 20 years ago and now they are hoping that the government will relocate them to a safer location.
The first landslide only blocked the road.
The natural calamity only brought mud debris with it making it impassable to vehicles.
The mudslide was successfully cleared within a few hours to allow vehicles from Penampang and Tambunan to pass through.
However, in the second landslide which occurred at about 1.30am last Wednesday, three houses were destroyed by the soil debris that slid down about 10 feet from its original location.
House owner Doraly John, 40, recalled hearing a strange creaking and snapping sound following which he felt his house shift as if being carried by a force.
“At that time, several villagers and I were monitoring the situation on the road. Realising that there was movement of the soil structure, we shouted at other family members still in the house to vacate,” he said.
“There were no children in the house then after the first landslide, we sent them away to stay with other families nearby,” he said.
Apart from the house, two cars were also destroyed.
He estimated the losses at RM200,000 which included the house and other valuables.
Another homeowner, Maxwell Beneruing, said he felt as if his concrete house was swaying when the ground started to crack.
He said the ground shifted slowly but it did not produce any loud noise.
The three houses affected by the landslides were built close to each other and upon seeing the condition of the house and the soil started to slide, the owners realised that it was no longer safe to occupy.
“Looking at the situation, we are all in unison that it is no longer viable to replace our houses there because the location is really unstable. Our only hope is that the government can help us relocate to a temporary settlement,” said Doraly.
Asked further why they chose to build their homes at the location which had potential to collapse, Doraly said: poses the potential to collapse, Doraly said: “We were desperate because we don’t have lands elsewhere to build our houses.
“We have been applying for land from the Government for a long time but were told there was no more vacant space in this village.”Another resident, Helvert Jaimol, sid asserted the houses would not have collapsed had the authorities maintained the drains after the first incident.
They said underground water that seeped from uphill overflowed onto the road below the hill where their houses were located.
Villagers built gravity pipes to tap the ground springs.
The groundwater which never dries up provide as the main source of water for the villagers.
During heavy rain, the spring can stagnate up to 60 feet of water for the villagers use. The area is located only several dozen meters from the collapsed house and the residents fear another landslide would occur soon.
“Many gravity pipes have also been damaged during the landslides. This will certainly affect our water source. We hope that this underground water spring can still be maintained,” said Helvert.
Currently, about 12 families were not affected by the current disaster but they still face the threat of landslides if heavy rain persists.
The affected residents are currently at a temporary shelter at Dewan Gawir in Madsiang.
For the record, the natural disaster this time claimed 13 lives, nearly all of whom were buried in landslides while still inside their homes.
