KOTA KINABALU: The army will be called in to help remove the massive piles of timber, boulders and other debris clogging the rivers in Ranau, and posing danger to its inhabitants.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said the job was deemed too big and dangerous for normal contractors and the armed forces should step in as they have the manpower and resources to deal with such difficult task.
“If the contractors are scared and worried about the safety of their workers, then, we need the bravery of the army, who are well trained for any situation,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Pairin, who is also Infrastructure Development Minister, said washed down logs had blanketed over half a kilometre of the Liwagu River, which is the main intake for piped water supply to the district.
He added that the piles of debris had formed a dam that could burst at any time should there be a sudden rise of water level caused by heavy rain.
“If this happens, a huge volume of water could come gushing down over at least five villages down stream, threatening lives and properties of over 3,000 residents.”
He said most of the people from these villages had been evacuated as safety precautions but the situation was still considered very “critical”.
“We have put up this suggestion to the natural disaster management committee at the district level that we need their (army) bravery. If the contractors are feeling their lives are at risk, then what are we going to do? We cannot leave the situation like that when the weather is unpredictable,” said Pairin.
In the meantime, he said a contractor had been tasked with clearing up the timber but the process, should they agree to do it, may take months to complete.
Terrifying flow of thick mud and dead timber reportedly began gushing down from upriver above Mesilau after a heavy rain late Monday afternoon, uprooting trees and massive boulders and depositing them into a massive pile of debris at the water intake at Kampung Kimolihing, Ranau.
The resulting mud floods have the forced authorities to evacuate some 100 people from Mesilau, as mud flow washed away bridges and cut off roads in the area and the adjacent Kampung Kiau.
As of yesterday afternoon, most residents from Kg Kimilohing, Kg Puru Puru, Kg Lingkudou, Kg Marakau Dambalang, Kg Kituntul Lama and several other villages in Kundasang were evacuated.
Some 800 of the evacuees were seeking shelter at several relief centers across the district, with almost 300 of them staying at Dewan Kundasang, some 167 at Dewan Marakau, and about 400 at several other community halls.
Most of the residents who have left their homes were putting up with friends or relatives.
Meanwhile, Pairin said remedial measures were being taken, including opening up alternative routes to areas where roads had been damaged and left inaccessible by the mud flood.
He also confirmed that two bridges were damaged at Kampung Mesilau.