Blocked drains cause flash flooding in Sandakan
SANDAKAN: Floods hit most parts of Sandakan on the tenth day of Chinese New Year yesterday after three hours of rain.
The areas that were affected include the town centre, Buli Sim-Sim road, BDC, Hap Hing Building at mile 1.5 Sungai Anib, SJK Chi Hwa, Bak Li Building at Km 2 North road, Milr 3 Keong Kong road, Taman Indah Jaya Phase 5, and Taman Lucky Phase 5.
A few roads became inaccessible by cars due to high water level, including Buli Sim-Sim road and the town centre. The situation lasted for a couple of hours from 10 am to 12 pm.
The rain came down unabated until about 2 pm, when the water level in all the areas began to fall.
According to Elopura community development leader Chan Tzun Hei, he had to cancel his programme to attend a Chinese New Year event to inspect the condition of flooding.
He reported the situation to the Sandakan Natural Disaster Committee, Sandakan Municipal Council, Public Works Department and the Drainage and Irrigation Department for immediate remedial action to be taken.
Chan said following his inspection, he found that a main cause of the flash flooding was because rubbish and debris dumped into the river had accumulated at the culverts positioned at the big drains which blocked the water flow and causing it to overflow.
He also noted that some utilities like cables and pipes of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, Water Department and Telekom Malaysia were positioned at the same level as the culverts, which had trapped the debris and caused it to be accumulated and blocking free flow of water in the drains.
“Based on my inspection, I think that all the cables and pipes should be positioned at a higher level than the culverts and should not be under the culverts or at the same level,” he added.
Chan said he hoped the authorities would take immediate remedial action to avoid any similar situation in the future.