KOTA KINABALU: Several days of heavy rain have forced residents to evacuate their homes and caused significant damage to roads, blocking key routes, including parts of the Sandakan-Kota Kinabalu highway.
While authorities work to identify passable roads, the Public Works Department (PWD) and road concessionaires have begun emergency inspections to assess the damage.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmy Yahya confirmed that a report on passable and impassable stretches had been submitted to him.
"PWD and the concessionaires are actively assessing the conditions and taking immediate action to ensure the roads are safe for use," he said on Thursday (Jan 30).
Shahelmy added that repairs are already underway, with major structural work in the worst-hit areas being handled by PWD headquarters.
The Telupid-Sandakan road, where floodwaters submerged the Sapi Nangoh roundabout at KM70 on Wednesday (Jan 29), has been one of the most severely affected. This has cut off travel between Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu.
He assured the public that repairs would continue as necessary to restore access to the region.
According to the Welfare Services Department, as of 6pm on Thursday, 3,944 people from 1,334 families are sheltering at 30 temporary evacuation centres across 10 flood-affected districts in Sabah.
Kota Marudu has the highest number of evacuees, with 2,360 people from 866 families staying in eight shelters. Other affected districts include Lahad Datu (323 victims from 85 families), Pitas (305 victims from 117 families), Kota Belud (269 victims from 82 families), Telupid (201 victims from 48 families), Beluran (190 victims from 55 families), Sandakan (118 victims from 28 families), Beaufort (102 victims from 29 families), Tongod (54 victims from 13 families), and Paitan (22 victims from 11 families).
The numbers are expected to rise as rescue and evacuation efforts continue, led by the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Malaysia Civil Defence Department, police and other agencies.
