Sabah on alert for high tides, jetties and guard posts damaged

KOTA KINABALU: Islands and beaches around Sabah were flooded while facilities such as jetties and guard post structures were damaged due to high tides on Thursday (July 14).

Sabah Parks director Maklarin Lakim said some of the affected islands were Sipadan, Gaya, and Pulau Tiga.

“The jetties here are mainly made of wood, so when the tides came in with strong waves, some of the wood was broken,” he said when contacted.

However, there was no major damage reported, he said.

Maklarin said overall, all beaches and islands in Sabah were somewhat “flooded” due to this phenomenon.

“This is normal. This happens everytime there is a higher tide than usual,” he said.

Sabah Civil Defence Department director Mohtar Samat said they have not stopped being on high alert due to the continuous bad weather over the past week.

He said after the rains, now comes the high tide.

“We are still keeping a high alert and preparedness for any eventualities,” he said when contacted.

Mohtar said the department has yet to receive calls or reports of incidents or damage from the high tide phenomenon which is expected to last till Sunday (July 17).

“However, one of our guard posts at Tanjung Aru Beach was slightly damaged. There are some cracks on the floor,” he said.

He said this post is used by their officials to monitor the safety of beach goers among others.

The National Hydrographic Centre stated in a Twitter post that the high tide phenomenon occurs due to the influence of the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.

More information on the locations of the tidal forecast can be found at https://hydro.gov.my/ramalanpasangsurut/.