Sarawak experiences fourth hillslope collapse in 48 hours

MIRI: Landslide in the hilly Puncak Borneo area is threatening residents of Kg Karu in southern Sarawak.

Torrential downpour on New Year's Eve and early on Wednesday (Jan 1) caused soil movement on the hillslopes where the village is located.

Landslide started to happen there on Dec 31 and is now getting very close to the settlement.

"The erosion caused by heavy rain is affecting the houses and will worsen if the rain continues," the State Disaster Relief Management Committee said in its updates on Jan 1.

Pictures from the site showed piles of mud already flowing into some houses.

Civil Defence Unit teams have been deployed to check on the safety of residents.

This is the fourth case of major hillslope collapse in the past two days in Sarawak caused by the bad weather.

On Dec 31, incessant rain caused major landslides in three different districts throughout Sarawak.

Prior to this latest incident, the hilly areas of Kg Rayu in Kuching district, Jalan Matang Wildlife Centre in Matang sub-district and Jalan Samarakan-Bintulu saw erosion bringing down tonnes of earth on roads below them.

Committee secretariat Major Ismail Mahedin said various agencies like Bomba and Civil Defence Units and road works contractors had been informed of these cases.

"Operations to monitor these affected areas are in place. The relevant agencies and road contractors are dealing with the situation on the sites," he added.