SIBU: The latest flood episode in Sibu, which has caused many traffic jams with numerous cars reportedly breaking down, highlights a concerning lack of sufficient preparation by the government to minimise damage to property and protect the lives and livelihoods of the affected communities.
Stating this, former assemblywoman Irene Chang believes while natural disasters are inevitable, the degree of inconvenience and devastation caused by these floods reflects systemic gaps in flood management, infrastructure development and disaster readiness.
“As is common knowledge, flooding not only destroys homes, businesses, and infrastructure but also disrupts lives and exacerbates economic challenges.
“Despite these incidents happening every year, especially during the monsoon periods, many affected communities continue to remain vulnerable due to insufficient flood mitigation systems, poorly maintained drainage networks, and a lack of proactive measures to address the root causes of these disasters,” she said in a statement today (Jan 14).
Chang, a lawyer by profession, argued that this frequent recurrence of flooding is a stark reminder that the government should take decisive, proactive action to minimise damage and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of the people.
“Flood resilience is not just a matter of emergency response; it is a matter of strategic planning, sustainable development, and accountability and the people expect that after so many years of flood incidents, the government should be very experience in developing strategies in combating the effects of flooding.”
Meanwhile, residents staying at the area of Lorong Ulu Sg Merah 51M have implored the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) under its jurisdiction to upgrade the road as part of the lower portion have been frequently inudated.
According to them, this incidents inevitably occurred whenever there is heavy downpours for three to four hours.
“Actually, for many of us, we have moved in 20 years ago or so experienced terrible floods three to four times at the area which were totally impassable to motor vehicles.
“Private longboats then came in to ferry the residents for a fee out of the area to the higher ground or putting up with relatives.
“The portion of road had been upgraded just one or two times before over the years. But so far it has not been uppraded for quite a long time. Thus, we request SMC to take immediate action to avoid us to face the hardship of life or great inconvenience caused to our daily life.
“We need to earn a living as well as sending our children to school. The authority concerned should in fact come to inspect the deplorable road and hear the grouses of the residents. In addition, the rainwater collected remain stagnant and need quite some time for the water to flow out,” they lamented.
