BAU (Jan 16): The floods that hit Kampung Suba Buan this week has left its villagers suffering huge losses as they could not save their household equipment, livestock and crops.
The village was flooded from Wednesday to Friday as the water level reached 3.6 metres, leaving the main road and most houses here completely inundated.
Due to the floods, Kampung Suba Buan alongside other villages such as Kampung Stass and Kampung Serikin were also cut off from the outside world as roads were rendered impassable.
“My house was completely flooded and I can only see the rooftop. I managed to take shelter at my brother’s two-storey house located nearby,” 50-year-old Redomas Siin told The Borneo Post today while cleaning his house, which was full of debris carried along by the floodwaters.
He lamented that the flood had left him with damages to his electricity meter, furniture and electrical appliances.
Redomas (left) is seen hosing down his house after the floods destroyed most of his furniture and appliances.
His brother, Peter Siin, 57, said that the floods had left the lower part of his house completely flooded, leaving him dealing with damaged goods and dead livestock.
“Even the doors are damaged. I lost 30 of my chickens as they were caged in the coop, with my ducks and fish all missing due to the flood,” he added.
Peter explained that most villagers residing in low-lying areas of the village took shelter at their neighbours’ houses located on higher ground.
As the flood had cut off the village, he said there was no evacuation centre set up to relocate the affected villagers.
Recalling the incident, Peter’s wife Muna Oteng lamented that the losses suffered were unbearable as she did not expect the flood to hit the village hard.
“Although our house is high, the water managed to reach the top level’s floor. We’re lucky as the water did not reach completely to the top,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, the village’s St Lawrence Ruiz church committee member Karim Lidek said its members took the initiative to handle the evacuation of affected villagers to higher ground using boats.
“That was all we could do as we were cut off from assistance from the agencies involved when the flood hit our village.
“I can only hope that the government through their related agencies can do something about our situation,” he added.
When contacted later today, Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep clarified that there was no evacuation centre set up in the village as the village hall and the operation room were completely flooded.
With the water level in the village now subsiding, he said villagers could now obtain supplies from the Bau District office.