KOTA KINABALU: Authorities are on the alert following heavy rain over Mount Kinabalu which triggered mudflows down the rivers that clogged up a water intake point in Ranau.
After last year’s incident, where piles of logs jammed the Liwagu intake point and caused serious water shortage, Ranau district officials are closely monitoring the situation.
Ranau district officer Faimin Kamin said yesterday that they were on standby and were prepared to evacuate people if the situation warrants.
However, he said so far the mudslides were confined within the river flow but had already affected the water intake point leading to the shutdown of the treatment plant on Monday.
Operations of the water intake point resumed yesterday after officials cleared it of mud and debris.
There were also mudflows coming down from the mountain into the Mesilou river and the water intake point in Liwagu, causing the Water Department to shut it down, Faimin said.
Water supply to Ranau town and nearby Kundasang was expected to return yesterday afternoon.
Faimin said the erosion on the mountain had been causing mudslides and mudfloods following the June 5 earthquake last year.
“This is why we are now very much prepared. We will take immediate measures to prevent the recurring of water shortage problem and are constantly reminding the people here to store water whenever it rains,” he said.
Last year, villagers in Ranau, Kundasang and Mesilou faced weeks of water shortage, with some areas without clean water supply for months following mudfloods in the aftermath of the Mount Kinabalu quake.
Thousands of boxes of bottled water and other water sources were sent in to help the villagers.
Roads, bridges and houses were also damaged in the incident, forcing hundreds of villagers from Ranau and Kota Belud to flee their homes.
