KOTA KINABALU: At least 11 people were killed and one remains missing after a series of landslides struck Papar and Kota Kinabalu on Monday (Sept 15).
Continuous rain triggered widespread floods and slope failures across Sabah’s west coast.
In Papar, tragedy struck at Kampung Maragang Tuntul around 9.20am when a landslide buried three homes.
A 32-year-old woman and her 11-year-old daughter were later pulled from the rubble, both confirmed dead, while her six-year-old son is still unaccounted for.
Barely 40 minutes later, another landslide crashed through three houses in Kampung Mook, Kinarut, trapping a family inside.
A man’s desperate pleas for help went viral on social media as he begged for an excavator to rescue his loved ones.
Hours later, his worst fears were confirmed when his wife, Emily Johnny, 38, and their 11-year-old son, Xarell Myre Aristhotle, were found dead.
The deadliest incident took place at Kampung Cendera Kasih in Kota Kinabalu, where a wooden house in a squatter settlement along a hillside was flattened, burying 11 members of a family.
Four people survived, one of them with a broken leg, while seven others perished.
The survivors were identified as Wajid, Arman Abdullah, Fezrul Ikhwan and Abdullah Ayan.
Among the dead were 40-year-old Husaima Sarabani, Abdul Halid Darak, 50, 24-year-old Maslinah Abdul Halid, as well as four children, nine-year-old Nur Iman, seven-year-old Muhamad Izzan Abdullah, four-year-old Siti Katijah Abdullah, and two-year-old Muhamad Khan Abdullah.
Their bodies were recovered in stages between 12.37pm and 3.42pm.
Rescue efforts involved 76 personnel from various agencies, including firemen, police, Civil Defence Force officials and health officers.
Teams were deployed simultaneously to Papar and Kota Kinabalu as operations stretched into the late afternoon.
Authorities have since ordered nearby residents to evacuate amid concerns of further slope failures.
Continuous monitoring is being carried out in the affected areas.
The Sabah government earlier cancelled Malaysia Day celebrations scheduled for Tuesday (Sept 16) to focus resources on assisting victims.
Thousands have been affected by floods and landslides across at least eight districts along the west coast.
As of 4pm, the Civil Defence Force reported 804 evacuees from 209 families across 35 villages in Beaufort, Penampang and Membakut.
Penampang recorded the highest number with 425 people from 100 families.
This was followed by Membakut with 202 people from 54 families, and Beaufort with 177 people from 55 families.
Ten temporary evacuation centres have been opened to house those displaced.
This week’s floods and landslides mark one of the worst natural disasters to hit Sabah in recent years.
The deadliest tragedy in the state’s history remains Tropical Storm Greg in 1996, which killed or left more than 200 people in Keningau on Boxing Day.
