KUALA BERANG, Jan 25 — Heavy rains since Monday resulted in the Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village (KECV) here being hit by a water surge yesterday afternoon and this morning.
There was no danger to anyone when both incidents occurred, as there were no visitors or tourists since the centre was closed yesterday due to bad weather.
KECV director Ang Ching Yang, who said this, added that the first water surge incident occurred around 1pm yesterday, resulting in damage to several areas at the centre, including the cafeteria, prayer hall and toilets.
He said the second incident happened at about 9.30am today, flooding the bridge and making it difficult for the workers to feed the elephants.
“Two days before (on Monday) the incidents, I saw the river water turning yellow and mixed with mud and the elephants here had also given strange sound signals. Based on our experience here, both situations indicate that a natural disaster was about to happen,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
Ang said he was thankful that the water surge incidents did not affect all 17 elephants at the centre as the animals had been moved to a safe location earlier.
“We haven’t calculated the cost of damage yet, but for the past few years, almost annually, we have been hit by water surges, and the cost of cleaning and repairing the affected areas and facilities will range between RM250,000 to RM300,000,” he said.
KECV will reopen to visitors when the cleaning and repair work is completed and good weather returns, he added. — Bernama
