KOTA KINABALU: Nearly 400 people were evacuated from low-lying villages in Kota Marudu, while evacuations were ongoing in Pitas and Paitan districts following floods triggered by heavy overnight rain in the northern part of the state.
The districts activated their respective Disaster Management Operations Centres between 10am and 2pm on Tuesday (March 10) after identifying several flood hotspots in their areas.
This is the second severe flooding in the Paitan and Pitas districts, which are still recovering from the floods that hit the neighbouring areas on Feb 18, when over 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
In declaring a flood disaster at 10am on Tuesday, Kota Marudu district officer Meirin Sugara said they had received field information and reports of flooding in several areas in the district and were mobilising to provide the necessary assistance and rescue operations.
Firemen moved in to evacuate about 25 people, including 14 children and a baby, from Kg Beliajung in Kota Marudu after receiving a distress call at about 8am on Tuesday. The victims were taken to an evacuation centre in Tandek.
As of 4pm, relief workers said that about 390 people had been evacuated. They were also monitoring the situation in Pitas and Paitan, where over 30 people had been moved from high-risk areas.
Amid reports of rising floodwaters, Paitan district officer Joloning Joe Majambu also declared a flood disaster at 11am on Tuesday. However, there were no immediate details on the number of kampungs affected by the second wave of flooding in the district.
By 2pm, neighbouring Pitas district officer Asdi Mohd Faizal Hussin had also declared a flood disaster for the district, which was similarly hit by floods last month.
