KOTA KINABALU: Residents living along rivers at the foot of Mount Kinabalu have been advised to be vigilant at all times, especially during heavy rains, after mud floods hit the area for the second time and swept away a steel bridge in its wake at Kampung Malangkap Baru in Kota Belud, yesterday.
The call was made by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) biologist, Prof. Dr. Felix Tongkul, who witnessed the mud flood during his inspection visit to several rivers in Kota Belud and Kundasang that were hit by massive mud floods recently following the deadly June 5 earthquake and about 100 aftershocks thereafter.
He said the latest mud floods in Kadamaian River and Mesilau River occurred so quickly after heavy rainfall upstream.
“It is due to the route of the rivers that were cleaned first by mud floods (recently). This situation is very dangerous for the people who live along the rivers. This situation is expected to continue to occur in the future as long as the rubble, boulders and logs from landslides on the mountain slopes along at the foot of the mountain gather and heavy rain occurs at Sungai Mesilau Kiri and Sungai Mesilau Kanan in Kundasang.
“In view of this, villagers in this area are reminded to remain vigilant and to quickly inform the authorities if any part of the river flow is found obstructed or a temporary dam build up has developed in the river. At the same time, the relevant authorities would also need to make regular monitoring of the rivers condition that could pose a risk,” Dr. Tongkul cautioned yesterday.
During his inspection visit yesterday, Dr. Tongkul said he found that the volume of water in the river upstream of Kadamaian River and Penantaran River has increased over the past few days because of rain up in the mountains.
“At around 10.30 am, the water in Ulu Kadamaian River at Kampung Tombotuan was murky, but after heavy rains on the mountain areas, the water level had risen so quickly and become very murky with the content of mud increased dramatically. At 11.30 am, the flood escalated and approximately one hour later it turned into mud floods.
“Sekolah Rendah Kiau is reported to be hit by mud floods for the second time because of its proximity to the river,” he said.
Dr. Tongkul added that at 12 noon, he was at Kampung Malangkap Baru to see the situation at the Penantaran River where the water level was quite low. I could see the condition of the river as a result of the first mud flood on June 17 which carried boulders as big as cars and also big logs.
“About 12.30 noon, some residents of Kampung Melangkap Paka, a village located closest to Mount Kinabalu right down to Kampung Malangkap Baru informing of hearing loud noises coming from upstream of Penantaran River.
“They expected the likelihood of mud floods upstream based on their experience from the first mud floods. And, about 15 minutes later, the mud flood in Kampung Malangkap Baru swept away the steel bridge at the village, where I was making my observation.
“It was a very scary situation as the water level was high and the currents swift and strong with a loud impact sound between rock boulders. As the situation was getting worse and dangerous, with the possibility of the steel bridge being swept away by the mud floods, I decided to leave from the other side of the river and head to Kampung Malangkap situated downstream.
“About 30 minutes later, the mud floods escalated and carried with it boulders as big as tables and toppled trees,” said Dr. Tongkul, adding that about an hour later, the steel bridge at Kampung Malangkap Baru was swept away.