BEAUFORT, May 19 ― Authorities should tackle the flood problem in Beaufort immediately to minimise the losses incurred by the people, said Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Ir Shahelmey Yahya.
He called on responsible parties to rectify the issue which has become an annual event.
“Flooding in Beaufort has become like an annual event. When there is heavy rain in Tenom, overflowing water from Tenom will spill over to Beaufort through the Padas River,” he said.
He hoped the relevant departments and agencies in Beaufort will sit together to discuss solutions to the problem.
On the Ministry’s initiative to ensure online learning can be conducted for students in temporary relocation centres, Shahelmey said the Ministry will instruct the district Disaster Operation Control Centre (PKOB) to communicate with the Beaufort District Education Officer.
“We can probably ask the PKOB to connect with the Education Officer to ease the online learning process for the children at the centre,” said Shahelmey when visiting flood victims at the Dewan Dun Banir, Beaufort relocation centre.
Also present during the visit were Local Government and Housing Assistant Minister cum Klias assemblyman Datuk Isnin Alisanih, Lumadan assemblyman Ruslan Muharram, Sabah Welfare Services Department (JPKA) director Jais Asri and Beaufort district officer Abdul Imam Basirun.
Meanwhile, temporary placement centres (PPS) continued receiving victims of fire and flooding in Putatan, Beaufort and Tenom as of 8 pm Tuesday night.
According to the Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM), the trend of victims arriving at centres was on the rise as some had just discovered their homes in Kampung Meruntum, Putatan were destroyed in the fire after returning from Tawau.
There were a total of 154 victims recorded at four centres, two of which are in Putatan. The first, at Dewan Taman Sri Serigai, housed 64 victims from 20 families while Dewan Taman Sri Keramat held 18 victims from five families.
Dewan DP Mohd Dun Banir in Beaufort held 46 victims from 12 families, who came from 45 villages. Rumah Kebudayaan Kalang Kanar in Tenom housed 26 victims from five families, who were affected by flooding in 11 villages.
Erratic weather caused water levels from rivers to rise, flooding villages and surrounding areas as well affected some access roads. The APM reported that relocation efforts were still ongoing following continued rise in water levels. ― Borneo Post
