KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is set to rush in water supply to 355 villages in 12 districts across the state as rivers dry up during the prolonged drought.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said he has directed for water to be sent to some 50,800 affected households in the villages in Tongod, Tuaran, Papar, Keningau, Semporna, Kota Belud, Tenom, Pitas, Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Kudat and Tawau.
He said the state government has put aside RM7.5mil for this purpose and was working in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma),.
“The State Water Department and disaster operations command centres in the affected districts have begun distributing water to the people.
“Water treatment plants at river catchments are on the brink of drying up due to the drought since the middle of February and more areas may be affected if the situation persists,” he said at the presentation of assistance to the Fire and Rescue Department at Menara Kinabalu here on Tuesday (March 27).
He said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) had also recommended cloud seeding operations over areas affected by the hot and dry weather from Thursday to Saturday (March 28 to 30).
“The operations will be based on the forecast for suitable cloud cover with rain potential," he said, adding that the cost would be fully borne by Nadma with MetMalaysia providing personnel and technical assistance.
He added that the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Labuan will provide logistics support in collaboration with the Internal Affairs and Research Office of the Chief Minister’s Department.
“We hope the cloud seeding will proceed smoothly and yield rain in the affected areas,” he said.
Hajiji said the state government also allocated RM267,444 to the Fire and Rescue Department to buy additional equipment to fight forest and brush fires in the state.
This included 27 portable pumps, 75 motorised sling pumps and 906 fire beaters.
As of Tuesday (March 26), a total of 1,392 cases of forest and brush fires were reported to have ravaged over 3,600ha of the state.
Of this, fires at about 3.5ha (8.55 acres) at the Kayu Madang landfill in Kota Kinabalu have yet to be completely contained.
“To date, the department has mobilised 319 firefighters throughout Sabah," he added.
