SANDAKAN: Twenty-two people from two villages in the Sandakan zone were evacuated on Friday (Dec 12) after heavy rain caused flood waters to rise rapidly in several low-lying areas.
The Malaysian Civil Defence Force said monitoring teams were first deployed around 8.41am after receiving reports of rising water from Kg Garinono, Kg Satura, Kg Sungai Kapor and Kg Jaya Bakti.
Operations later shifted to Kg Pertanian Batu 25 and Kg Garinono, where several houses were affected, prompting immediate evacuations.
Civil Defence Force Sandakan district officer Capt (PA) Sulaiman Salama said field teams reported that eight households involving 15 people had been moved out as of 11am.
“In our latest update as of 11am, our ground team reported that eight households involving a total of 15 victims have been evacuated. All of them will be transferred to SK Pertanian, which has been gazetted as a temporary relief centre,” he said on Friday.
A subsequent update confirmed that 11 households, comprising 22 people, were placed at the temporary evacuation centre at SK Pertanian.
APM also continued monitoring in Kg Memanjang and Kg Jaya Bakti, where water levels have begun to recede, though six houses in Jaya Bakti were earlier reported submerged. No residents there requested relocation.
The public has been advised to remain alert and follow instructions from authorities.
Meanwhile, Sandakan District Disaster Management Committee chairman Walter Kenson has declared a flood disaster in the district and announced the activation of the temporary evacuation centre at SK Kampung Pertanian effective 11am on Friday.
The declaration follows recommendations from the district disaster committee, which, after inspections, confirmed that several affected homes were no longer safe for residents to occupy.
MetMalaysia has forecast unstable weather in Sandakan over the next several days, with thunderstorms expected on Friday and Saturday, followed by rain on Sunday.
