Flash flood-headache for local man
By Achong Tanjong

Several youths digging a drain to help divert the floodwater

Some of the items from the dining room placed on higher ground

Continuous downpour caused havoc in many low-lying areas over the weekend with some house turning into mini-pools as the floodwater rose to knee-deep levels. The worst affected house belonged to Awg Ibrahim bin Abdullah at Kampung Tanah Jambu 2 in the Brunei-Muara district.

According to Awg Ibrahim, this was the first time that the house had been badly hit by flash floods in the past 30 years.

He laid the blame on the poor drainage system in the areas and the negative attitude of some residents who would not allowed a proper drain to be built through their lands to channel water to the monsoon drain.

"The problem would not happen if there were co-operation and an understanding attitude among the nearby residents in the very first place," he said.

The water level rose to about two-feet inside the house at about 7.00 am last night. The ground floor of the wooden house was badly affected including the kitchen, dinning room as well as the guest room. Their belongings had to be moved to higher ground to avoid further damage.

Awg Ibrahim added that to solve the matter he called on village head Awg Haji Asar bin Haji Beruddin who requested the help of the Muara Fire Services to pump water from affected houses.

Some of the village youths were also asked to dig a drain at the back of the house to reduce the water level in the areas.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin