Help arriving for flood victims in Tenom and Beaufort

KOTA KINABALU: As weather eases in the Tenom and Beaufort districts, help is beginning to trickle in for the over 5,000 flood evacuees here.

As weather conditions improved over the past couple of days, flood evacuees at various temporary shelters remain at around 5,000, with others being allowed to go home and some just being registered.

Many of the villages are still hard to access since May 18 due to continuous downpour and subsequent floods starting May 20, making it difficult for donors to send help.

Those who have come out to help include political parties from Parti Warisan Sabah, Sabah DAP and others.

Apart from food and essentials, flood victims are also facing water shortages due to clogged and flooded water plants as well as murky water conditions, among other reasons.

According to the state Water Department, water supply will return to normal once flood waters have receded and the murkiness has cleared up.

A total of 122 villages are still affected by floods while 37 temporary shelters are still open in these two districts as of May 25.

So far, there has been one loss of life to floods involving a man in Beaufort district on May 23.