HEAVY rain caused havoc within a 6km radius of Kuching city this morning, inundating major roads and leaving hundreds of motorists stranded by the roadside for hours.

Storm drains in most areas could not cope with the large amounts of water that fell in such a short period of time.

Residents in low-lying residential estates woke up to see water creeping into their homes.

One resident in the flood prone residential area of Tabuan Dayak had a wry outlook of the latest flooding that left his home in waist deep water, describing it as “nothing new to Tabuan Dayak folks”.

“This is a yearly event,” Chimon Upon said as he took a selfie of himself, wearing an oversized “terendak” (traditional hat made from the leaves) sitting in the floodwaters.

Apart from Tabuan Dayak, residents in Desa Wira and Kampung Sinar Budi in Batu Kawa, went through the familiar feeling of having to pack up again and move to higher ground until floodwaters subsided.

This is the second time this month they were forced to move.

Most worrying for city residents was that all roads to the Sarawak General Hospital were impassable.

By noon, floodwaters were reported to be receding in most areas.

The Fire and Rescue Department deployed a team to help move residents in Batu Kawa to safer areas.

The Civil Defence Department has issued a warning to villagers in the low lying areas of Tambirat, Asajaya, about 23km from Kuching, to be on the alert for flooding.

Ten houses in Kampung Tambirat Nanas were under threat as the compound surrounding their home was under one metre of water.

The flooding last week, though not as severe as today’s had prompted Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii to query what was holding up the RM150 million flood mitigation project that was supposed to address the flash floods.

Yii said the mitigation project, known as Pembangunan Lembangan Sungai Bersepadu Sungai Sarawak (Sarawak River basin integrated development) covers nine locations including the upgrading of drainage at the Sarawak general hospital, the federal government quarters at Jalan Tun Jugah, Batu Lintang area, SK Muara Tuang in Samarahan and also the drainage along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway.

The project also included the building of flood barriers along Sungai Gersik, Sungai Sinjan and also the dredging and deepening of Sungai Tengah and Sungai Minjab.

Yii said the frequent flash floods had caused “so much inconvenience and property damage” and further delays would further exacerbate city folks’ frustrations.

“Such delays are unacceptable as it burdens the public and causes additional problems especially during the monsoon season.”

Yii, however, was quick to admit that even with the project, it would not solve all the flash flood issues in Kuching.

He said more needs to be done by both the federal and state governments, including more flood mitigation projects along Sg Maong Kanan, and Sg Maong Kiri. – March 18, 2023.