Parts of west coast Sabah hit by floods, 65 villages inundated

An aerial photograph of the flooding in at the Kolombong industrial area in Kota Kinabalu shared in the social media.

KOTA KINABALU: Low lying areas across Sabah's west coast and interior were flooded due to continuous heavy rainfall on Friday (Sept 3).

At least 65 villages in southwestern Beaufort and Sipitang were flooded with 68 people from 60 houses evacuated so far, while Kota Kinabalu has gone on alert amid continuing flooding in low lying areas including the Kolombong industrial estate.

Neighbouring districts of Penampang, Putatan, Papar, Tuaran were also reporting floods, while reports from interior Keningau said that a section of the road in Apin Apin area sank, making it impassable for vehicles.

So far, evacuations were only reported in Sipitang and Beaufort.

There have been no reports of any casualties or damage in the areas hit by the floods.

Sabah has been experiencing wet weather over the past week but heavy and continuous showers triggered more flooding that included housing estates, industrial areas as well as feeder roads.

Residents in some areas also complained of power failure.

Meteorologists are forecasting continued light and heavy rains through the weekend.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had urged people to be more vigilant during the current poor weather conditions.

He urged people to move out of their areas if instructed by the authorities monitoring the flood situation.

"Many areas in Sabah like Beaufort are flood-prone and people must take precautions," he added.