Ewon orders help for Penampang flood victims
KOTA KINABALU: Penampang Member of Parliament Datuk Ewon Benedick has ordered the Penampang Parliamentary Service Center officials to assist the Penampang District Disaster Committee to deal with the current flood situation in the district due to heavy rain.
The Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives gave the instruction after several villages in Penampang were badly affected by the flood.
“I got in touch with Penampang District Officer Francis Chong about the current flood situation in Penampang.
“The district officials have declared a flood disaster and the disaster operations room has been activated. All department officers have been instructed to work in accordance with the assigned duties and schedules.
“Temporary evacuation centers have been opened and operations to evacuate flood victims were carried out.
“As I am in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Parliament session, I have asked all my officers in Sabah and the secretariat of the Penampang Parliamentary Service Center to help the district disaster centre,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ewon said he will monitor the flood situation in Penampang closely and will get feedback from the District Officer and relevant agencies from time to time.
He also reminded villages affected to take safety measures during the heavy rain.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Sabah Disaster Management Secretariat stated that 34 people from nine families have been evacuated from their homes and taking shelter at the Penampang Cultural Centre which has been turned into a temporary flood relief center.
Several roads were also reported to be impassable by small vehicles due to the flood. Among the roads are Penampang Proper, the road leading to the Penampang police headquarters, Kampung Kolopis, Jalan Kibabaig, Jalan Tanaki and Jalan Nampasan.
Two schools were also affected by the flood, namely SK Kibabaig and SM St Michael.