Combination of rain, dam water and king tide cause river to overflow
SIBU: The Rajang River broke its banks on Wednesday night inundating part of Lanang Road near the town centre.
Heavy rain in the upstream area, water released from Bakun Dam and the king tide combined to cause the river to overflow.
The king tide reached 1.3 metres as at 9am yesterday according to the data from Department of Drainage and Irrigation ( DID) Sibu, while the highest king tide for the month at 1.5 metres is expected towards the end of the month.
Traffic along the busy road was reduced to a snail pace yesterday morning.
Low-lying areas in Lanang area such as Kiong Tung and Chong Sang roads were also inundated yesterday.
DID Sibu divisional engineer Ting Sing Kwong noted there was not so much rain in the town area.
“Water flow in through culverts and low-lying portions of Lanang Road,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
However, areas in Lanang covered by Sibu Flood Mitigation Plan were not flooded.
The flood water started to recede yesterday afternoon.
Further away from the town area - Salim- Stabau area was also inundated. According to Civil Defence Force’s (Apam) flood monitoring report, water level had reached ankle- deep.
According to the report at press time, Stabau Road heading towards Durin Bridge was only passable to four-wheel- drive and heavy vehicles.
Elsewhere in Rantau KemidingLipus Road ( Machan area) in Kanowit, the water level was between 1 and 1.5 feet high and the road was only passable to fourwheeldrive and heavy vehicles.
Meanwhile, Ting advised those in low-lying areas to be vigilant by keeping themselves posted on the latest weather reports.
He caution there might be flooding this month end if the king tide coincides with incessant rain.
When contacted, Assistant Minister for Arts and Culture Datuk John Sikie Tayai said the situation in Kakus area was under control.
It is learnt that the preschool housed in SK Nanga Salim was closed yesterday but classes for Primary 1 to 6 continued as usual.
SK Nanga Assan (115 pupils), SK Tanjung Latap (69 pupils) and SJK Hang Kwong (15 pupils) were also closed yesterday.