Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman said the State Government is closely monitoring the worsening weather conditions and the destruction caused by the tail of tropical storm Lan in the West Coast of Sabah.He said the State Disaster Relief Committee and the district level committees have been activated to assist those affected by the storm including flood victims in hardest hit areas.
"It is one of the most severe storms we have experienced in a long time. I am aware there is a lot of damage caused by the strong winds including rooftops blown off and trees uprooted," he said.
He said the relevant authorities at the state and federal levels were monitoring and updating the public through existing channels including the social media.
"I also caution the public especially children to refrain from going outdoors during stormy weather and to listen, if there are directives by the authorities to move to safer grounds," he said.
The flood situation in Kota Belud worsened, with the number of victims rising to 268 Thursday night, compared to 144 people this morning.
The Sabah Malaysian Civil Defence Force in a statement tonight said the number involved 102 families who were evacuated to the relief centre situated at the Tun Said Community Hall, after their homes were flooded from overflowing rivers, due to continuous rain over the past few days.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) urged the public not to believe rumours on the social media that typhoon Lan would hit the shores of Sabah.
MET Malaysia Director General Alui Bahari said typhoon Lan, which was currently in the east of the Philippines, was expected to move north, and would not pass through Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular.
"Side-effects of the typhoon has caused damp weather with strong winds in the west and north of Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan since Oct 17, and is expected to continue until Oct 21," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) has deployed standby teams in all affected areas – Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Beaufort, Tuaran, Kudat, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Ranau, Keningau, Tenom, Tambunan, Kuala Penyu, Tambunan and Federal Territory of Labuan – to speed up restoration work.
SESB General Manager (Corporate Communications) Chendramata Hj Sinteh said bad weather and terrible storm had struck the State since Oct. 14 (Saturday), resulting in a large number of areas cut off in electricity supply.
"Supply disruptions are widespread in several areas such as Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Beaufort and Tuaran due to many fallen trees and overturned electric lines breaking electrical poles.
"Additionally, flood waters entered the electrical substation and multiple landslides in some areas also resulted in cut-off to consumer premises," she said in a statement, Thursday.
S he said priority of repair work is focused on areas with safety risks to the public such as dropped electricity lines whereas supply recovery work is done in stages and subject to weather factors.
"However, the recovery work cannot be carried out at the time of rain and strong winds for the safety of SESB's staff members and contractors,"
She also advised the public to not approach any flooded electrical substation and any dropped electric cables because the electric supply may have not been switched off and could cause electrical shock.
Consumers are advised to contact SESB Careline at 15454 and 088-515000 if their area experienced electric cut-off.
Users may also send texts of electric disruption to SESB via WhatsApp at 019-852 5427 (name, address, complaint and phone number).
