Labuan landslip: 4 families hit
LABUAN, Jan 24: Rain inundated Labuan almost non-stop Wednesday from dawn to dusk had resulted in cave-in at a hillock along Jalan Patau Patau, damaging four houses and flash floods in Kg Ganggarak.
Jumat bin Asin @ Hussin, 56, was awakened by rambling noise under his house at 2am which grew louder and louder.
The police were alerted and OCPD Supt Adzhar Othman was at the scene to assess the risk. Cops cordoned and guarded the houses.
The households of the four houses were advised to evacuate immediately.
Overnight they camped outside their houses under canopies amid the rain.
The victims, from children to aged 80, numbered 40, were Thursday sheltered at the Kg Patau Patau 2 homestay programme provided by Jasa, under the PM’s Department.
Although Kg Patau Patau is a water village, the affected houses on the hill came under its oversight. Village chief Madrus Ali said he would be meeting the Geological Survey Department to study the stability of the land.
“We must get expert advice on the safety. It looks like the soil has eroded and pulling down the houses. We don’t want any one to be under the rubble,” he said.
On the way to the houses, trees were uprooted and the single carriage way had sunk by two feet. A villager complained that the erosion was not caused by the rain alone, but earthworks, adjacent to the hill. Over at Kg Ganggarak, the road next to the upcoming low cost housing project was under two-three feet of water. However the occupants of the few houses there were not asked to evacuate as their houses on stilts were relatively safe.
Although Deputy Prime Minister performed the earth-breaking ceremony early 2013, no progress was seen at the site. However, the leveling of the ground without drainage could have caused the flooding.
The Labuan Security and Disaster Committee chaired by Datuk Bashir bin Haji alias had swung into action, coordinating with various government agencies to provide temporary relief.
The MP Community Service Centre, National Security Council, Information Department and Wanita Umno contributed hampers to the affected families. Senator Datuk Yunus Kurus called for investigation into the cause of the landslides and floods.
source: Daily Express
