KOTA KINABALU, Jan 20 — A landslide occurred today at the car park of Kinabalu Park alongside Jalan Ranau-Tamparuli, according to the police.
The landslide, about 150 metres wide, occurred at 7.15am, said Ranau District Police chief DSP Sammy Newton.
He said no one was injured in the incident and traffic flow on the road, the main route between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, was unaffected.
“The landslide is believed to have been triggered by the incessant rain over the past few days in the Ranau district,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
He said Sabah Parks has cordoned off the landslide area and the Ranau Public Works Department (JKR) is monitoring the situation.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam visited the site of the landslide, about 90 km from here, and called for repair works to be carried out immediately.
He said cave-in had occurred close to Jalan Ranau-Tamparuli which is the main route between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.
“Many public vehicles use the road. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident,” he said in a statement.
The Kundasang state assemblyman reminded the people in the district to exercise greater caution during the current rainy season, saying there is a high risk of landslides occurring at this time.
It was reported that a landslide also occurred last night at a road in Paitan, Beluran, in the Sandakan Division following incessant heavy rain and caused structural damage to the Paitan Water Department building.
Beluran Fire & Rescue Station chief Rastam Keladi said a contractor for the Sabah Public Works Department had informed that Jalan Nangoh Paitan Kanibungan is impassable to traffic as the landslide has affected an 80-metre stretch of the road.
“Road users are advised to take the alternative route, which is the old road to Kota Kinabalu,” he said when contacted.
Meanwhile, Sugut assemblyman Datuk James Ratib urged JKR and the relevant concessionaire to take immediate action to clear up the route.
He said this was because the road was an important means of connecting residents and farmers in the area.
“That is why even before the JKR and the concessionaire begin with the works, I have already directed some machinery in this area to pave a temporary alternative route,” he told reporters after inspecting the condition of the road near here, today. — Bernama
