RANAU: A man and his dog marooned for over 36 hours on an oxbow lake along a swollen river have been rescued by firemen in Ranau district as floods in parts of Sabah worsen.
The man identified as Leonard Lawrence, 42, and his dog, were caught by rising waters at Kampung Takutan in Perancangan Ranau since Sunday noon as firemen stopped rescue efforts due to nightfall and bad weather.
Best friends: Leonard and his dog just after being rescued from the oxbow lake in Ranau.
As the weather eased for a while early yesterday morning, firemen managed to help Leonard and his dog cross the river to safety.The flood situation in northern and north-eastern Sabah continued to worsen, with the number people evacuated to 23 temporary flood relief centres rising to 2,435, involving 874 families.
A spokesman for the Civil Defence Department said Sabah’s northern Kota Marudu district saw an increase to 1,952 evacuees from 779 families placed in 12 relief centres yesterday, compared to 1,019 people on Sunday.
In Paitan, 97 people from 23 families were moved to three flood relief centres, while in Beluran district, 38 victims from 10 families were safely moved.
In the Telupid district, 51 people were evacuated to two relief centres.
In Sandakan, 197 people from 42 families were evacuated, while in Pitas, some 79 people from 22 families were also moved to safety.
Twenty temporary relief centres have been opened in six districts: 11 in Kota Marudu, three each in Paitan and Telupid, and one each in Pitas, Beluran and Sandakan.
The flooded districts include Kota Marudu, Paitan, Telupid, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Ranau, Kinabatangan, and Lahad Datu.
Continuous and heavy rain is expected to continue until today.
