RANAU, June 17 ― With mudslides clogging up rivers and forcing a severe water shortage, life has been a struggle for villagers living on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu in the two weeks after the 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck near their homes.
Since the quake hit on June 5, the villagers, who have been forced from their homes, have had to endure more than 80 aftershocks.
Their source of water from nearby Sungai Liwagu has been clogged with tonnes of debris ― mostly tree branches from the mudslides ― and this has effectively halted water flow.
“Villagers are going through a severe shortage due to damage to the dam. Essentially, they no longer have tapped water,” said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun who is also Karanaan state assemblyman.
Authorities are seeking donations in the form of bottled drinking water as supply in the town has run out.
“We launched the campaign for bottled water last night, and within two hours we got responses for 360 cartons of water,” he said, adding that there is more coming today.
Help in the form of a water truck from the army has also been sent to the area and are filling up water sources for the hospital, boarding schools and evacuation centres in Kundasang and Ranau.
Several government departments, agencies and non governmental organisations have also mobilised logistics to deliver water from the state capital and the neighbouring district of Tuaran.
“At the moment, the evacuation centres have sufficient food and water and other necessities but we will be needing more as more people are expected to come in.
“Gravity water feed systems in unaffected villages are working well and I have received many phone calls offering their water to the victims.
“I'm so proud of the people of Ranau for coming together and offering their help. The only problem is that they are quite far,” said Masidi.
He also said that the welfare department can consider providing more educational activities for the many children currently sheltered at the evacuation centres.
Some 700 villagers are currently displaced from their homes in Kampung Mesilau, Kundasang and around 10 villages in Ranau community hall including Kampung Kimolohing, Kampung Puru-Puru, Kampung Lingkudou, Kampung Marakau Dambalang, Kampung Kituntul Lama, Kampung Sinarut and kampung Matau.
Safrah Jaffren, 34 and Noor Adli Razali, 33, are from one of the 54 families temporarily housed in the Kundasang mini hall.
The couple and their five children aged between 18 months and 11 years will be facing a bleak fasting month as they fear their house has been affected by the mudslides along the Mesilau river.
“We didn't want to leave our home but we were scared from the shaking ground. We will just have to wait for further instructions from the authorities, but meanwhile I hope our home will be ok,” said Saffrah.
Noranah Nasir, 30, who is with her family of six children in the Ranau community hall, said her home along the Liwagu river is at risk from the overflowing of the river.
“It was so scary, this is the first time we have seen the river flowing so heavily and with mud and rocks and big logs.
“When the Bomba came at 9pm last night, we just grabbed some clothes and left, fearing the river would engulf the house any minute,” she said.
She is one of 382 people from 91 families in the Ranau community hall.
The villagers at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu are still suffering trauma from the earthquake on June 5, which has seen some 81 aftershocks since June 5.
The last one occurred at 11.51am today, 5km from Ranau at a magnitude of 2.5.
“We cannot sleep at night from fear that another one will happen again,” said Siti Avrinah, 35 from Kampung Puru Puru.
