Photo shows Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) workers erecting markers along the edge of a drain to warn road users last December.
SIBU: The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) has identified more than 500 areas across the state which are flood-prone and its focus would be on these ‘hotspots’ in the rainy season.
State Bomba assistant director (Operational Division) Farhan Sufyan Borhan told The Borneo Post yesterday that the data was culled from covering floods over the last five years.
“They are located all over the state, and the majority of them are near riverbanks; however, there are only a few of such areas in Miri,” he said.
“Our logistics will focus on these areas when there is flooding.”
He recalled Limbang, Kuching, Puncak Borneo, Samarahan and Simunjan were the worst hit last year.
Farhan Sufyan advised flood victims to cooperate in the event of evacuations.
“House owners are to ensure their doors are locked and power supply switched off.
“They are to bring along their important documents, if there is an evacuation.”
Meanwhile, Selangau District Officer Christopher Ranggau said water level in major rivers in Selangau had risen slightly yesterday due to heavy rain.
He said there have been no reports of roads being inundated, thus far.
“The water level is rising. If heavy rain stops, everything will be back to normal.”
On January 19 last year, floods forced 3,812 people from 939 families to be evacuated and 36 schools in various parts of the state closed, due either to inundated roads, schools being used as evacuation centres or the schools itself were flooded.
According to media reports, 31 flood evacuation centres were opened then, with 22 of them in Kuching.
Last November, downpour in the catchment of Mukah River caused the river to burst its banks, forcing 59 people to evacuate.
The following month, floods cut off road access to many longhouses in Selangau.