Morshidi (left) is seen using his smartphone to take a photo of the water level at the barrage. — Photo by Kong Jun Liong
KUCHING: The water level of Sungai Sarawak is still safe despite the heavy rains here in the past few days, said State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi Abdul Ghani.
He, nonetheless, gave assurance that the State Disaster Relief Committee, of which he is the deputy chairman, is always on standby and alert for any possibilities of flood due to the current inclement weather.
“Basically, it’s not at danger level because the rain simmered down and now the tide is going down so we are flushing all the water in the river. Once we have flushed the water it means that in all these areas the water will go down again.
“The level there is below 10m and is still safe. But if it is above 10m, such as 10.5m or 10.6m then it will be dangerous,” he said when met while visiting the Kuching Barrage yesterday.
He also explained the visit to the barrage was part of the on-the-ground monitoring to check everything was in order and not because the water level has reached a dangerous level.
To a question, he said the barrage operates 24 hours every day and its main task is to regulate the level of Sungai Sarawak, which flows through Kuching division.
He also mentioned that the committee hold meetings regularly together with the Resident and District offices and also the police to update their flood preparations and other related natural disasters.
“We have activated our ops rooms at Wisma Bapa Malaysia and also at district office level. In fact, I called up those in flood-prone areas this morning (yesterday) to check if they are all in order.
“We are also monitoring the situation on the ground. Our ops room has the number of all the Ketua Kaum (village chiefs) to communicate with them on the situation. We can only prepare and make sure everything is in order, the rest is up to God,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source said floods could occur if heavy rains continue until today and added that Jan 22 and 23 are crucial due to the possibility of king tide and torrential rain that could cause water level at Sungai Sarawak to rise.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department, in its weather advisory yesterday, issued an ‘Orange Stage’ heavy rain warning for Sarawak.
It stated intermittent rain, occasionally moderate, would occur over Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah and Bintulu and persist until tomorrow.