By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Jan 1: Flash flooding in several parts of Kuching early this morning forced Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) teams to evacuate residents to temporary relief centres, with at least 14 people rescued from affected areas in Taman Desa Wira and Kampung Sinar Budi Baru.
Bomba Batu Lintang and Kota Sentosa responded to the emergency at 2.47am after receiving reports that floodwaters had entered residential homes and immediate assistance was required.
Evacuations were carried out using aluminium and fibre boats, with victims safely transported to the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) at Kampung Sinar Budi Baru. In total, 14 people were evacuated in the operation, comprising adult women, children, elderly residents, one person with disabilities and no injuries were reported.
A total of 15 personnel were involved, supported by a fire rescue tender, a 4WD vehicle, an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) vehicle and rescue boats. The Sarawak Coastguard also assisted at the scene with three personnel.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Response Team (PGC) Zone 1 Bomba Sarawak carried out continuous overnight monitoring and flood patrols in several flood-prone areas, including Batu Kawa, Sungai Batu, Sungai Bedaun, Buntal, Matang Jaya, Taman Desa Wira and Sourabaya Ulu. Patrols found that conditions in most areas remained under control, although water stagnation was observed in Batu Kawa.
At about 2.50am, a separate evacuation operation was launched in Kampung Segedup Surih after water levels rose, prompting residents to be moved temporarily to Dewan Surau Segedup. As of 5am, 20 people from seven families, including elderly residents, children and infants, had been evacuated.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said several temporary evacuation centres remain active in the Kuching Division as flood conditions persist.
These include Dewan Masyarakat Stapok (55 households, 203 evacuees) and Dewan R, Piang Kampung Sinar Budi Baru (31 households, 129 evacuees), while PPS Surau Ar-Rahman in Kampung Sungai Batu was opened shortly after midnight with 16 evacuees from four households.
Additional centres at Dewan Kg Stapok and Dewan Taman Malihah have also been opened, with the number of evacuees still being updated.
Authorities have advised residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to stay alert, monitor water levels closely and comply with instructions from enforcement and rescue agencies should further evacuations be required. — DayakDaily
