Kota Kinabalu: Waves crashing onto the Tanjung Lipat shoreline due to high tide and the flash floods that ensued posed a challenge for many drivers along the stretch on Thursday afternoon.
A Vigo driver escaped unscathed after it ended up in a drain and was helped to safety with the help of bystanders.
A 4.15pm call prompted a team from the Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department to monitor the flood situation. The stretch is currently only accessible to big vehicles.
Firefighters were also deployed to the same location this time last year where a similar condition was reported.
In SIPITANG, the Kampung Meligan-Mendulong road at 17.1km Jalan Pantai is impassable due to a landslide caused by heavy rain on Thursday night.
Community Development Unit Officer, Sindumin Sani Miasn said several vehicles were blocked and couldn't use the road.
The road was the main link between Tenom and Sipitang. “We received a complaint before midnight where we were informed of a road emergency between Sipitang and Tenom where a landslide occurred. The soil deposited on the road made it impassable to vehicles," Sani said.
The landslide in Sipitang.
Sani said the Public Works Department road concessionaire acted immediately to clear the road.
At the same time SESB restored the disrupted electricity.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said alert-level continuous rain is expected in the interior (Sipitang, Kuala Penyu, and Beaufort), west coast, Sandakan (Telupid, Kinabatangan, Beluran, and Kudat) and Labuan until Monday.
Meanwhile, a geologist has warned that the increase in tourism-related projects in Kundasang can lead to landslides reminiscent of what recently happened in Batang Kali, Selangor.
Felix Tongkul told FMT hill slopes would be damaged and weakened in the development of these projects.
He said Kundasang, in particular, was prone to landslides. He recalled that a large section of the car park outside Kinabalu Park collapsed into a ravine last year.
Kundasang is less than 100km from Kota Kinabalu and is popular among visitors for its cooler climate.
“The Kundasang area is one of the most geologically active areas in Sabah,” he said. “Hence, any development in this area, particularly those on steep hill slopes, is vulnerable to landslides.”
The car park collapse was not the only landslide in Kundasang. A larger landslide in 2011 destroyed a hillside resort and forced more than 100 people to evacuate their homes.
Given what happened last Friday in Batang Kali, the authorities must do more to regulate and monitor developments in the Kundasang area,” Tongkul said.
“High risk areas should be identified and development in these areas restricted. The authorities should also have ongoing public education on landslide hazards.”
Sabah Environmental Trust CEO Rahimatsah Amat lamented the lack of enforcement on land use in Sabah.
He said a landslide was only one of many disasters waiting to happen in Sabah’s many tourist destinations, including campsites in popular locations such as Kiulu, Kota Belud and Bundu Tuhan.
“The homestays in these places were not planned for,” he said. “In fact, under the Tourism Industry Act, these structures are illegal. Campsites and permanent structures should not be built along river reserves.”
He said the state tourism board was exacerbating the situation by encouraging rural folk to engage in community-based tourism and by endorsing the illegal structures built on river reserves and state land reserves.
The number of family-run resorts, particularly in Kundasang, has increased considerably in recent years after the Sabah government launched community-based tourism to encourage the locals to take advantage of the industry.
However, there are concerns that some of these structures do not have the necessary permits from the local authorities and the fire department.
The entire Kundasang district is prone to minor tremors and soil movement. About 70% of the 50 sq km around Kundasang town have been designated as high-risk areas.
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