Two houses swept away at KK’s Tg Aru water village during high tide

KOTA KINABALU: Two houses collapsed and nine others were damaged following high tide phenomenon and strong waves during heavy rains at Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru here Thursday (Dec 22) night.

Two wooden stilt houses collapsed and were washed off while nine other houses were damaged as strong waves battered the coastal village in Tanjung Aru following the high tide that began to rise at 5pm.

Kota Kinabalu City deputy chief Supt Kalsom Idris said a total of 12 houses and several wooden walkways were affected by the waves.

Victims of the high tide phenomenon at Kota Kinabalu’s Tanjung Aru Baru water village registering at a temporary relief centre on Thursday night.

“We instructed all the residents to evacuate their homes for safety reasons,” she said.

As of last night, she said that 32 families involving 273 people have been identified as affected by the incident.

“The victims were being housed at the Tanjung community centre while some have gone to live with their relatives,” she added.

A house partially damaged by the hightide phenomenon at kg Tanjung Aru Baru water village in Kota Kinabalu.

She said that there were no casualties reported and they would continue to monitor the situation as the high tide phenomenon was expected to continue.

As of Friday (Dec 23), many residents returned to their homes but had advised to take precaution to evacuate during high tide and strong waves.

Meteorologists have forecasted heavy rains and floods to continue in Sabah till Dec 26.