SELANGAU: Typhoons, evacuating victims at night and encounters with crocodiles and venomous snakes, were just a few of the many challenges faced by rescue workers in flood relief efforts here since Monday.
In what has been described as Sarawak's most challenging flood relief efforts to date, Head of Zone 4 of the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department Misran Bisara said one of the riskiest evacuations was the rescue of seven staff of the Nanga Tamin Rural Clinic who were trapped after the floodwaters submerged the area around their clinic.
" After receiving an emergency call we quickly moved to the location at 5pm. The rapid flooding, followed by the difficult path to the clinic made the mission more complicated.
"Fortunately, all the staff were safe. Overall, it took 10 hours to complete evacuation.We did not want to wait another day because we did not know how the situation would worse, especially with the threat of the rising water levesl in the area," he said when contacted this morning.
He said the distance between one longhouse to another was also a challenge to rescue members, especially longhouses located in the Selangau interior.
"Coordination and cooperation with related agencies was very important in completing the missions. The Fire Department alone could not have transfered the more than 1,000 residents affected by the floods to the relief center," he said.
For the Selangau Mission, Sarawak Fire and Rescue Zone 4 deployed 20 members and three senior officers along with a lorry, three four-wheel drives (4WD) and two boats to help rescue the flood victims.
Misran added that there was also cases where residents in longhouses were left stranded after access routes to their longhouse were flooded or buried by landslides.
He earlier led 10 of his team on a mission to deliver food supplies to residents of the Sawong Baling Long House in Upper Wong River, here, which was cut off for four days.
" We assisted the Social Welfare Department (JKM) to send food, rice, sugar, oil, instant noodles and drinking water to 280 local residents, "he said.
Meanwhile, a survey around Selangau indicated that the water had receded in most places with residents already leaving temporary relief centers and returning to their homes.