Floods wreak havoc throughout city

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KUCHING: City dwellers were given a rude shock earlier this morning (Feb 27) when part of the state capital was inundated by flash floods due to a heavy downpour that started from the wee hours and subsequently subsided at around 10am.

With social media abuzz with shocking images of stranded vehicles and homes in Kampung Tabuan Dayak being flooded to a waist high level, getting the most attention were pictures of staff and patients from the Sarawak General Hospital depicting them wading through ankle high water on the ground floor of the hospital.

In response to the pictures, Sarawak Health Department director Datu Dr Zulkifkli Jantan confirmed the incident adding that no major damages were reported.

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Heal so gave his He also gave his assurance that their service will not be affected.

Using Facebook to share his thoughts was Health director general Datuk Dr Hisham Abdullah, whom in his post commended the efforts of SGH staff who were shown relocating their patients to different floors.

“It is times like these that I hope all of our staff persevere and do their best,” he said, adding that, “Undoubtedly natural occurances such as floods will to some extent be a test of our risilience and dedication and our own state of preparedness.”

He added that the flood will definitely affect the patients as well as the health facility, which would demand more time and effort from staff.

Reminding staff to ensure the safety of their patients and themselves, Hisham also said it is important for the hospital to secure all medical records and the support equipment for their patients to ensure that treatments and patient care will not be interrupted.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Fire and Rescue Department state deputy director (operations) Farhan Sufyan said Kuching has been experiencing heavy rain since 3am and had so far received 17 distress calls regarding the flash flood including a landslide which occured at Mile 18 Jalan Serian-Tebedu.

Farhan also revealed that among the rescue operations being carried out was to tow out a car that was caught in rising waters at Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg in front of SMB St Joseph.

Bomba were also mobilised to assist at SGH as well as in evacuating flood victims from Kampung Tabuan Dayak to a temporary relief centre at the Tabuan Jaya sports school.

On another note, Bomba has also received reports of water levels rising to at least one foot in the surrounding areas of Batu Lintang, Satok, Merdeka Palace and Taman Malihah.

As of noon yesterday, impassable roads due to the flood were Jalan Wan Alwi, Jalan Tabuan Dayak, Jalan Green, Jalan Arang, Jalan Taman Malihah, Jalan Bintawa (towards Pending), Jalan Batu Lintang, Jalan Ban Hock, Jalan Ong Tiang Swee, Jalan Palm, Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, Jalan Padungan, Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho, Sesco roundabout, Jalan Belian, Jalan Nanas, Jalan Badruddin, Jalan Agung, Jalan McDougal, Kampung Tupong and several areas in Petra Jaya.