Kapit on Flood Alert

Kapit on flood alert
The high water level at Kapit-Sibu express wharf yesterday morning.
By Famas, ET,16.3.2008
KAPIT: Continuous heavy rain throughout the division over the last few days has caused the water level of the mighty Rajang River to rise since Friday. Yesterday morning the water level rose by several feet, causing concern in the flood prone areas in the division.For the community in Kapit, high water level and flood are nothing to worry much about as they are normal scenarios they experience each year. On the average, they experienced at least two or three floods a year, especially along the banks of the Rajang River, Baleh River and their tributaries. The last major flood recorded in the division was in late December last year when the water level rose some 50 feet above sea level and the section of Jalan Kubu at the Kapit waterfront was inundated.However, a spokesman from the Kapit Resident’s Office advised the people here to exercise extra care, especially boat commuters and the residents of Kampung Beletih and Kampung Baru at the mouth of the Kapit River.For safety and preventive measures, longboats should be equipped with life jackets, long ropes and long poles. Parents are advised not to let their children play in the flood water.The torrential rain over the past one week had resulted in the water level of Rajang River and its tributaries, including Baleh River, Pelagus, Merit River, Pila River (in Kapit) and Belaga River, to rise over 20 feet.In Kapit district, there are some 350 longhouses which are mostly situated along river banks and in the absence of roads, the residents use river as their mode of transport.
No report of damages so far
The flood prone areas in the district are Kampung Muhibbah Beletih, Kampung Baru, Rumah John and Rumah Jenggong along Sungai Sesibau, Rumah Gani along Jalan Bukit Goram, Rumah Untam, Karangan Ara, Baleh, Rumah Bubut, Nanga Ibau, Kapit District Council Native Resthouses 1 and 2. During previous floods, the areas were inundated by water of between one foot and four feet deep.Meanwhile, SK Lepong Baleh at Jalan Lepong Baleh, about 25 minutes’ drive from here, had been flooded since Thursday morning.The Kapit District Disaster Relief Committee is on the alert but so far, has not received any report of damages due to high water level.In Song district, it was reported that the water level at Katibas River had risen tremendously and had overflowed its banks, inundating express wharf and several longhouses along the river. The floods on 28 December, 2007 left trails of devastation, washing away jetties, waiting sheds and village clinics of various longhouses, inundating several schools including SK Lubok Bedil and SMK Katibas and longhouses including Rumah Jarop Nga Sepadi, Rumag Cecelia Bunsu Nanga Kebiaw, Rumag Bundak Nanga Miaw, Rumah Abo at Nanga Tekalit and several government barracks at Jalan Takan.