Flash floods hit squatter settlement in Bintulu, forces evacuation of 21 residents

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The flood victims prepare to depart for home after the flood has subsided.

BINTULU: Twenty-one people were evacuated shortly past midnight yesterday after hours-long heavy rain triggered flash floods in the squatter settlement at Mile 5 of Jalan Tun Hussein Onn here.

Sarawak Disaster Management Committee secretariat head Ismail Mahedin said the evacuees were relocated to the civic centre here after their homes were inundated by up to three feet of water.

“The relief centre was opened at 2.43am to accommodate the four affected families. The centre was closed at 9.01am after the evacuees returned home, once the water level had subsided,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Department personnel were deployed to monitor several flood-prone areas at Jalan Tanjung Kidurong, Taman Milenium, Jalan Abang Galau and Jalan Time Square 5 in the aftermath of the downpour.

Civil Defence Force (APM) personnel here were also dispatched to Rumah Tan in Sebungan, Sebauh after three days of continuous rain resulted in flooding at 18 of its 23 doors.

However, no evacuation was required, with the water level reported to have subsided to about one foot, as at press time yesterday.