A Section Of Mount Kinabalu Has Collapsed After Days Of Bad Weather
Many areas in Sabah have also been submerged in floodwaters.
By Judith Yeoh — 21 Oct 2017, 10:23 PM
Bad weather has caused a section of Mount Kinabalu to collapse earlier today
The incident happened at about 5pm today, 21 October.
The section that collapsed is near an old resort that is no longer in operation. Boulders had fallen into the Mesilau river, according to a report by The Star.
The video above shows climbers at Mount Kinabalu climbing in the midst of heavy rain on Friday, 20 October.
No one was injured according to officials
A few officials were sent to the area to inspect the damage. "From what we observed so far, everything is under control," the Sabah Civil Defence Department acting director Lft Kol Mohd Izaimi Md Daud told The Star. "The river flow is normal and we urge all villagers not to panic," he said.
The summit of Mount Kinabalu has been closed for the past week from 14 October due to wind, heavy rain, and low visiblity
Many areas in Sabah have been struck by bad flash floods recently, with Kota Belud being the worst hit district
Kota Belud has been submerged by floods following continuous rain for almost a week.
Image via Professor Dr Felix Tongkul / NSTSevere flooding has affected over 1,600 people in 23 villages in Kota Belud.
The earthquake in Sabah back in 2015 and many aftershocks after that have caused boulders and earth to loosen from the mountains. In fact, floods are a common occurrence in Kota Belud since the earthquake two years ago.
According to an NST interview with Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Professor Dr Felix Tongkul, said "The series of debris or mud flows which occurred after the earthquake over two years ago, has made the river channel shallow due sedimentation, and unable to cope with the huge amount of rain flowing from Mount Kinabalu."
As of Saturday morning, over 1,700 have been evacuated and placed in temporary shelters.