TAWAU: Tawau was declared a flood disaster district on Saturday after nine hours of continuous heavy rain since 2am, coinciding with high tide, leaving villages, housing areas, farms and roads submerged.
The flood declaration was issued at 8.30am by the District Disaster Management Committee Chairman, who is also Tawau Municipal Council President, Mohd Shoffian Mohd Said, following reports and updates from agencies and departments on the ground.
Impacted areas included Takada up to Batu 15 Jalan Apas, Jalan Tanjung Batu, Jalan Kuhara, Jalan Chong Thien Vun, Jalan Sin On, Jalan Air Panas, Jalan Utara and Balung.
The floods also caused traffic congestion along main roads, including alternative routes linking the town centre to Tawau Airport.
A Daily Express check found the police, District Fire and Rescue, Civil Defence Force and Sabah Electricity actively carrying out their respective duties in the affected areas.
Tawau Fire and Rescue Chief Jemishin Ujin said his personnel rescued 53 flood victims trapped in Kg Mandar Batu 2, Jalan Apas and Kg Tanjung Batu Keramat.
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“We received an emergency call at 6.50am in Kg Mandar and assisted five flood victims trapped in the area, comprising a man, two women and two boys,” he said.
He said earlier at 3.10am, his team rescued 48 victims from Kg Tanjung Batu Keramat, comprising an elderly man, an elderly woman, nine men, 19 women, 11 boys and seven girls.
He said throughout the operation, the Tawau Fire and Rescue’s control room also received several emergency calls related to flash floods in areas such as Taman Ria 1, Taman Hot Spring, Perumahan Taman Sunshu and Taman Sri Balung.
Meanwhile, the Tawau Civil Defence Force began monitoring flood risk areas from 3.55am, with teams deployed to several high-risk locations.
Areas under watch include Mid Valley, Taman Rainbow, Tanjung Batu Keramat and Jalan Bunga Raya, where water levels at Mid Valley and Taman Rainbow each stood at around 0.5 metres and Jalan Bunga Raya recorded 0.4 metres, remaining under control.
The river water level reading at 8am stood at 1.6 metres, showing a downward trend even as drizzle continued during the monitoring period.
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