Floods hit Sarawak’s low-lying areas after continuous rainfall

Flash floods have submerged the roads at Malihah, Matang, near Kuching city centre.

KUCHING: Rain has been falling non-stop since midnight Thursday here, resulting in flash floods at low-lying areas in the Sarawak capital.

The Fire and Rescue Department said on Friday that one of the first areas to flood was Kampung Beradek near Bako National Park.

Reports of other affected areas include Batu Kawa, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's health faculty and villages like Sinar Budi and Kampung Pulo.

Seven rainfall stations have recorded rainfall above the warning level, with Siol reporting 199mm of rain since 2am; Third-Mile station, 185mm and Saberkas, 151mm.

Six areas have recorded rainfall exceeding the warning stage, including Kuching south, the Barrage, Rampangi and Semariang.

According to the Drainage and Irrigation Department, rainfall of more than 60mm within two to four hours would typically cause flash floods.

As of 11am, all river level stations at affected areas had readings within the normal range. A high tide of 5.4m is forecasted at 9pm.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued a "heavy rain, orange stage" warning for most of coastal Sarawak, from Lundu to Mukah. It said rain was "expected to continue until January 1".

A "first category strong winds and rough seas" warning was issued at midnight just as it began to rain.

"Strong north-easterly winds of 40-50 km/h with waves up to 3.5m (11 feet) is expected to occur over the waters off Sarawak, Labuan and Sabah, specifically in the interior, Kota Kinabalu and Kudat until Saturday, January 2," it said.

It warned the conditions were dangerous to small crafts, recreational sea activities and sea sports.