Published: Monday December 30, 2013 MYT 11:52:00 AM
Updated: Monday December 30, 2013 MYT 5:30:58 PM
Flash floods hit major towns and cities in Sarawak
BY YU JI
A garbage truck going through floodwaters along Jalan Puncak Borneo in Padawan on Monday. ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star
KUCHING: Having devastated the east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia with floods in the last few weeks, Mother Nature now takes aim at Sarawak.
An overnight downpour have caused flash floods in major towns and cities in the state.
The suburb of Bau, about 30km from Kuching, received a staggering 190mm of rainfall between midnight and 10am Tuesday.
Rain that fell in that few hours exceeded the 181mm that Kuching received in the whole month of July.
In Bintulu, it was reported that 373mm of rainfall were recorded since Dec 1, including a whopping 134mm on Dec 23 alone.
According the Irrigation and Drainage Department, three river data stations around Bau are reporting "warning" levels.
Floods have also been reported in the suburbs of Kota Sentosa, Padawan and the Batu Kawa areas here.
Elsewhere, reporters in the flood-prone town of Sibu said the Rajang River overflowed its banks at several areas.
"Dear Sibu friends, please be careful! Flood in many places in Sibu! Road to my service centre is flooded too," Sibu MP Alice Lau said on Twitter.
Up north near Miri, three shelters have been activated, according to the National Security Council.
So far, 60 families, comprising 235 people, have been evacuated.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET) heightened its heavy rain warning from yellow to orange stage at 9.25am today.
The warning covers areas of Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Mukah which are expected to receive "intermittent" rain until tomorrow.
"This condition will cause floods over low-lying areas," the warning said.
In a separate advisory, MET said strong Northeasterly winds of 50-60km/h with waves up to 4.5m occurring over the waters off Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak are expected to continue.
The Sarawak Disaster Relief Committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, has called for a press conference here at noon.
