(Miri, 3rd) Sarawak Democratic Action Party Secretary Alan Ling Sie Kiong continued to inspect multiple low-lying areas in Miri that experienced floods due to continuous heavy rain during the Chinese New Year period. He aimed to understand the disaster situation and listen to the problems faced by residents.
Alan Ling pointed out that although the rain has stopped, the drainage in some areas is still poor, keeping the water levels high. Residents are still anxious and find it difficult to sleep at night.
“Some residents couldn’t sleep for three consecutive nights because the water level rose at midnight, forcing them to pack up overnight, only for the flood to return the next day. It’s truly unbearable.”
He stated that during the inspection, he discovered that residents erected barriers at their doorsteps to prevent accumulated water from entering their homes again. Many families even moved their mattresses onto dining tables to protect their belongings from soaking, fully reflecting the residents’ deep concern about the floods.
Alan Ling emphasized that poor maintenance of the drainage system is one of the major reasons for the floods. The drainage channels have not been effectively cleared for a long time, and the drainage system lacks overall planning. Commonly, a particular area is repaired but fails to connect smoothly with the adjacent drainage system, causing water flow blockage and eventually leading to floods.
He urged local government to pay attention to the cleaning and maintenance of drainage channels, ensuring that contractors perform regular cleaning and inspections according to a scheduled timetable, to reduce the risk of similar disasters occurring during future rainy seasons.
“If effective measures are not taken, Miri may face the same flooding in the coming rainy season, and by then it will be too late to ‘repair the barn after the sheep have escaped.’”