The huge landslide that struck Kampung Mosilou. One house was damaged and several others are perched on the edge of a cliff.
Haili’s house crashed into the river after it was brought down by the landslide.
RANAU: A two-storey house of a teacher at Kampung Mosilou here was damaged in a landslide yesterday, while several other houses in the same village are standing precariously on the cliff edge of a river that runs through the area.
Haili Salim said he was at his school SMK Timbua when a friend sent pictures of his house damaged in the landslide that struck their village.
“I was shocked when I saw the pictures showing my house at the base of the river after it was brought down by a landslide that struck our village this morning (yesterday),” he said.
Haili said he had already spent RM300,000 on the construction of his new house which was about 90 per cent completed.
“The house is almost completed and my family has been planning to move into our new homes to celebrate the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri in the middle of July.
“Fortunately, my wife and children are safe and I am grateful for that,” he said, adding that his wife and children were at their old house at another village, Kampung Cinta Mata, when the landslide occurred.
“I fear that several of my neighbours’ houses which are now standing at the edge of the cliff will also be damaged by another landslide at the same spot due to continuous rain in the area over the past two days,” he added.
Haili’s family members were among 381 residents from 89 families from seven villages who are now putting up at the district community centre, which is one of three temporary evacuation centres set up for victims affected by mud floods and landslides triggered by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake on June 5, and the successive aftershocks.
Residents from villages situated along the Liwagu River, one of several rivers here that have been struck by mud floods and located about half a kilometre from the town centre, were told to evacuate on Monday by the relevant authorities worried about their safety.
Clean and treated water supply to the town and its surrounding areas was cut off as the dam and water treatment plant at Liwagu River had been clogged with tons of logs, stones and mud.
Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department’s station here are continuously monitoring the situation on the ground. Many of the residents interviewed at the relief centres expressed their gratitude to the government for providing assistance to them through the various departments and agencies.
“We have been putting up here since Monday. We feel comfortable and safe with the assistance from RELA, the police, the Social Welfare Department, Health Department, the military and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the supply of food rations, including drinking water,” said 40-year-old Ricky Paun from Kampung Lintuhun.
Ricky’s sentiment was also echoed by Eman Sanisah and Siti Suharni, both from Kampung Puru-Puru, Ming Sing Kham from Kampung Kimolohing and Lajium Madating from Kampung Kg. Bunakon.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology, Datuk Siringan Gubat, both assemblymen from the area, Ranau district officer, Haji Faimin Kamin, and other community leaders visited the relief centres yesterday.
Masidi and Siringan also visited the villages affected by the mud floods and landslides.