FLOOD AFTER INCESSANT RAIN FORCES LONGHOUSE FOLK TO EVACUATE

HARD TIME: Residents of Rumah Steward wade through an inundated access road to their longhouse.

ROBAN: Twenty-six families from Rumah Steward Belintang, Jelupang, Sungai Nyiar were ordered to evacuate to the community hall here after their longhouse was threatened by flood last night.

The 86 people were forced to relocate after the water in Sungai Seblak swelled to a worrying level around 10pm after continuous rain from morning to night, compounded by high tide, a source from the District Disaster Committee revealed when contacted yesterday.

“The evacuation process was smoothly carried out with the cooperation of the District Fire and Rescue Service Station which provided a truck. They will remain at the evacuation centre till the water recedes,” the source said.

This was the second time the residents had been directed to evacuate their longhouse for the same reason.

The last time was in January when it involved over 100 people from 22 families who had to put up at the evacuation centre for three days.

According to the affected residents, they suffered substantial losses in household items and crops during the last flood, which they had yet to recover from.