Thousands in Tuaran and Sandakan hit by water shortages
Published on: Friday, March 08, 2019
By: R Gonzales and Winnie Kasmir
TUARAN: Over 3,000 residents from 20 villages in the district are suffering water shortages due to the current drought.
Among the villages that received water supply were Kg Penimbawaan, Kg Kapa, Kg Kelawat, Kg Ulu Bakut, Kg Simpangan Lama, Kg Ruhiang, Kg Dopu, Kg Bukit Giling, Kg Logkou Baru, Kg Koporingan and Kg Minangkob.
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Six more villages – Kg Tambulaong, Kg Kotunuan Baru, Kg Moingob, Kg Hamad, Kg Bungalio and Kg Baru-baru have yet to receive assistance.
Tuaran District Public Defense Force (APM) Officer Paulina Francis said APM in collaboration with the Tuaran Town and Country Planning Department (JPBD) and the Sulaman, Tamparuli and Kiulu Community Development Unit (UPPM), distributed water since Feb. 5.
“Seven lorries with three tonnes of water were used to channel it to residents in 11 villages experiencing water shortages.
“Today we also received reports of nine more villages affected by drought and are in the process of sending water supply,” she said.
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According to Paulina, over the last two weeks, people living in highlands and lowlands began to suffer from water shortages due to the prolonged heat.
“The absence of rain for the past three weeks also affected their daily activities,” she said.
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Paulina said four more villages, Kg Rangalau Lama, Kg Bulieng, Kg Logkou Lama, Kg Ulu Bakut would receive the installation of ‘Stand Pipe’ from Tuaran District Water Department.
Meanwhile, a resident of Kg Ulu Bakut who wanted to be identified as Brahim, 36, said residents of the hill area in their village had to travel to Tuaran town or Tamparuli town for water supply.
“However, with water assistance being transported to the village using a tanker truck, residents do not have to go back and forth to get water for their needs,” he said.
On February 20, Tuaran District Officer Mohd Sofian Alfian Nair declared a drought disaster in Tuaran district.
The Fire and Rescue Department also succeeded in containing a fire outbreak affecting 2.02 hectares of weeds which saved several nearby houses at Jalan Bontoi, Tamparuli, Wednesday.
The fire was believed to have started at 8.55pm, prompting the nearby residents to call the Tuaran Fire and Rescue Department where nine firemen led by Chief Abdul Qawie Abdul Gapar rushed to the scene with a firetruck.
“As soon as we arrived, the fire had already spread to nearby houses and road. We battled against the fire immediately with no hesitation and contained it by 10.33pm.
“We had to return to the scene at 4.50am Thursday after receiving a distress call that a fire outbreak had reoccurred,” said Abdul.
The reignited outbreak was contained by 8am with no reports of deaths or injuries.
According to the fire department, they have faced 119 fire cases involving bush fires, forest fires, farms, and more since the start of the year.
The public are advised not to conduct open burning or dispose lit cigarettes by littering.
In Sandakan, some 785 families from 13 villages around here, Kinabatangan, and Telupid were affected by drought since last month.
Sandakan Malaysian Civil Defence Force chief officer Capt Ahmad Roslan Mohd Kamel said the villages are Semawang Sg Tiram, Bit Bim, Dandulit, Sg Beruang, Kuala Gum Gum, Banting, Lalasun and Sg Monyet which involved 630 families.
“As for Kinabatangan and Telupid, the affected villages are Kg Sungai Lokan and Kg Balat with 128 families and 27 families in Kg Lumou and Kg Masumba, Telupid,” he said.
“Clean water supply for affected villages in Kinabatangan has been distributed on Thursday using the APR truck and a tank truck from Kinabatangan District Council.
“For Sandakan, clean water supply was provided on Sunday, while the supply of clean water for the affected villages in Telupid was provided on February 25, using the Beluran District Council tank truck.”
The Sabah Meteorological Department predicted the hot and dry weather that hit Sabah will persist until the end of April.
The amount of rainfall is also expected to decline between 40 per cent and 50 per cent throughout Sabah in March especially in the northern part of the State, Sandakan, Tawau and West Coast.
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