PITAS: Residents in Mukim Kanibongan, about 25 kilometres from Pitas town, were shocked and did not expect their village to also be affected by the current floods, having not experienced such a disaster for a long time, with the last one 23 years ago.

       Most of the residents, when met, recalled that the last time the village was hit by a big flood was in 1999, which submerged many houses there.

       Aidil Mustapah Pusong, 50, of Kampung Pangkalan Kanibongan, said although floods occurred in his village every year, the situation was not as bad as last Sunday (Feb 6), when his house, which was built on 18ft (5.4m) high stilts, was also affected.

       He said his house was built on high stilts as it was only about 20m from the Kanibongan river.

       "The water started to rise at about 1pm last Sunday due to constant heavy rain that started on Saturday (Feb 5).

       "The water was rising fast and within an hour, had risen to 18ft, which is the height of the stilts of my house, and also entered the house.

       "The grocery store and vehicle workshop under the house were destroyed in the blink of an eye," he said when met by Bernama at the relief centre at (PPS) at Dewan Kampung Sinukab near here.

       Pitas is a district in northern Sabah and about 195 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu.

       Another flood victim, Cyrus Masikah, 34, said it was the first time in his life that his house was submerged in the floods until the roof.

       "I was born in this village and have been living here ever since, and this is the first time I experienced such an extraordinary flood.

       "Never has the water risen so high that it submerged the village road which is on high ground," he said, adding that the flood destroyed his house and all their household belongings, estimating his losses at almost RM10,000.

       Karim @Ayah Magaud, 64, from Kampung Batu 10, Kanibongan, said the flood that happened in their village this time was very unusual and unexpected.

       "Normally, when there is flood, even during heavy rain, the flood water would only be up to knee high and would not affect the residents much as most of the houses are built on high stilts.

       "This flood is unexpected. None of the residents had time to move their vehicles to higher ground because it happened so suddenly.

       "All we could do was grab the important documents and moved to the PPS with the help of the rescue team," he added. - Bernama