The collapsed bridge at Sungai Baya.
MIRI (July 16): About 800 people comprising Penans and Kelabits from five villages in upper Limbang are cut off after a temporary bridge collapsed and was swept away due to heavy rain Wednesday night.
Limbang Resident Ahmad Denney Ahmad Fauzi said a report of the bridge collapse at Sungai Baya had been reported to the divisional disaster management committee yesterday.
According Batu Danau assemblyman Paulus Palu Gumbang, he was informed by the villagers in Long Napir that the collapsed bridge was at Sungai Baya and not at Long Selidong as informed by certain quarters.
Long Napir is a mixed Kelabit and Penan settlement at the confluence of two rivers – Sungai Medihit and Sungai Limbang – about 145km from Limbang. It can be reached in about four hours’ drive by 4WD vehicles on logging roads. The journey by river takes a day.
Paulus said the village chief in Long Napir confirmed that the broken bridge was at Sungai Baya, which was built and maintained by a timber concessionaire. He added he would get details on the actual number of people and villages affected.
On another subject, Paulus said no one had been evacuated in the district so far although flood water was reported to be rising in the Batu Danau area.
Ahmad Denney, who is also the divisional disaster management committee chairman, said 99 flood victims in Lawas District had been evacuated to flood relief centre at SJKC Chung Hua Lawas as of 2pm yesterday.
This centre was activated at 9am.
They included 26 children and eight babies from Kpg Gelapas Trusan, Kpg Seberang Kedai Trusan, Kpg Senduyun, Kpg Masjid, Kpg Tengah, Kpg Tanjung and Kpg Long Tukon in Trusan sub-district.