Rain threatens landslides, isolation for Pensiangan residents in Sabah

NABAWAN - Residents in Pensiangan, Sabah, are concerned that the unfavourable weather conditions will lead to continuous landslides, making it difficult for them to leave the affected village to get food supplies.

Pensiangan sub-district head Atar Andipoh said that the route to enter Kampung Salinatan could not be traversed due to the ongoing rain in their area, making road repair work impossible.

"Since the landslide incident the other day until now, the weather has been unfavorable, and continuous rain will hinder the cleanup work on the affected road, possibly leading to more landslides.

"Residents are also worried about a major flood occurring if the rain continues, leading to overflow from the Saliu River and Tagol River here," he said when contacted by Sinar earlier today.

Atar added that currently, the residents of Kampung Salinatan relied only on the river route to reach Pensiangan.

"Right now, we have to use boats through the river route to get to Pensiangan, but not all village residents can do so.

"So far, most of them have to endure with the aid provided by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) distributing food supplies on September 12," he said.

Atar added that they had conducted follow-up assessments of the landslides and found that more than 10 villages, with over 1,000 residents, were affected and cut off from food supplies.

"I have made a request involving over 200 families to receive food supply assistance from the Welfare Department, and it is being processed.

"So far, some of the villages listed in the application are Kampung Saliliran, Kampug Sibangali, Kampung Simohong, Kampung Babayasing, Kampung Siatu, Kampung Dubolon, Kampung Sinapar, Kampung Mambo, Kampung Sakali, Kampung Sumbai, Kampung Siwalor, Kampung Lirung, and Kampung Sikalabahan," he added.

Atar also disclosed that telecommunications access in their village was limited, making obtaining and disseminating information difficult.

"I surveyed the villages for several days to gather information about the affected residents.

"But I can't make contact because there is no mobile network coverage or WiFi. I can only rely on available WiFi near my home and can be up to 100 meters away from the centre if I want to transmit information.

"Other than that, I have to take a boat for more than an hour to get to Pensiangan to deliver information, including requests for assistance for the affected village residents," he said.

Sinar on Saturday reported that more than 300 residents in four villages in Pensiangan had been cut off from food supplies for nearly a week due to the main route to the area being impassable following landslides on September 5.

However, the efforts of an NGO group from Forces of Love (FOL) and the fire brigade who braved the challenging route for 18 hours successfully delivered 2.3 tons of supplies to the affected residents.