KOTA KINABALU: A senior citizen had a close shave, escaping unhurt when he drove into a large pothole in Jalan Sembilan Belas in Sinsuran during a heavy downpour this afternoon.
It was learnt that part of the road leading to Jalan Sembilan Belas was under repair and that barricades were placed around the hole. The Perodua MyVi driver, however, escaped unhurt in the 2pm event.
A short video clip showed the driver inspecting his vehicle in the rain.
Based on the nine-second footage, the person who took the video can be heard saying the car fell into the hole and that the driver did not see the barricades.
Construction workers at the site said they had put up a signboard to warn road users of the construction work but it was blown away by strong wind during the storm.
The state has been hit by unusually heavy rain for the past few days. The Meteorological Department has forecasted isolated heavy rains and thunderstorms to continue until next week.
The department earlier this afternoon issued a warning that today would see strong winds and rough seas, with thunderstorms over the waters of Sabah (interior, West Coast and Kudat) and Labuan expected to continue until early tonight.
“This condition may cause strong winds up to 50 kph and rough seas with wave heights of up to 3.5m and dangerous to small boats. Thunderstorms over the waters of Condore, Reef North, Layang-layang, Labuan and Palawan are expected to continue until Saturday.”
The heavy rain and strong winds caused tree branches to fall on the street, blocking motorists’ way. Firefighters have since cleared the roads.
In Kota Belud, two villages were flooded, prompting to Civil Defence Force to conduct rescue operations to evacuate villagers who were affected by the floods.
As of 5pm, the Civil Defence Force reported Kampung Donggoi and Kampung Marajah were hit by floods and roads leading to the villages were impassable.