KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) geologist, Professor Dr Felix Tongkul said after conducting an aerial survey on the areas surrounding Mt Kinabalu, it was found that large portions of the mountain have suffered severe landslides and that only the eastern part of the mountain towards Poring has been spared.
He said in a statement yesterday that the rockfalls have ‘hurt’ the surface of the mountain so much that the granite rock surface was now exposed.
He added from his observation that the trees around the side of the mountain were also destroyed and that the ‘leftover’ trees were now piled up at the foot of the mountain.
Aside from that, the rockfalls, debris and mud flow have also exposed the bottoms of creeks at the mountain and that these creeks now resembled ‘highways’.
He said that this will improve the flow of water in the river in the event of rain.
Dr Felix said that even though there have been widespread landslides occurring, there were no obstacles to the flow of the river.
He also said that no temporary dams have been formed and that the allegations now going viral on social media about the formation of a large lake at the upstream of Sg Mesilou was untrue.
“This is good news for the folks there,” he said.
Nevertheless, he cautioned that the present condition may change if the incidence of rockfalls occur from the continued aftershocks.
He urged the folks living at the affected zone to continue being vigilant and said that the situation must be monitored continuously by the relevant authorities.