KUBANG PASU: A hillside campsite in Bukit Kachi, Sintok, has been forced to cancel all reservations for the upcoming Deepavali festival and until the end of the year following a water surge incident yesterday.
In the 4.20pm incident, the Sungai Batu Campsite was hit by surging muddy water and debris after heavy rain lasted for about two hours, inundating the camp with up to two feet of mud.
The camp's owner, Mustafa Musa, 62, said that the water surge and flood inflicted substantial losses, amounting to RM20,000 in infrastructure damages and RM6,000 in refunded booking deposits.
"This was the worst water surge incident to have occurred here, the last one in the area was in 2010 but was nowhere near ferocious. The rain lasted for about two hours but it only took 10 minutes for the camp to be inundated.
"Fortunately, all campers managed to evacuate the area after we noticed that the clouds got darker. Alhamdulillah, no one was harmed but I am not willing to risk allowing further camping activities until the rainy season subsides.
"This means that all bookings until the end of the year must be cancelled, and I will have to refund RM6,000 in deposits to my customers," said Mustafa, who is also a retired military officer.
Mustafa said that the water surge also damaged two All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV), various office furniture, prayer rugs in the camp's surau and various structures donated by the public.
"This campsite has been in operation since 2018 and usually water would flow downstream into Sungai Sintok. However, due to several consecutive days of rain, it's likely that water accumulated on the hilltop.
"Fortunately, this campsite has ample open space to accommodate the substantial flow of muddy water, and the water dispersed throughout the campsite, reaching only about mid-thigh height," he added.
Mustafa acknowledged that it was his responsibility to suspend the campsite's operations for the next two months to prevent unfortunate incidents.
"Leisure visitors and campers are drawn to this location due to the untouched upstream rivers and rainforests. Bookings come in from customers nationwide.
"However, I am willing to bear a slight loss as safety is paramount. Given the unpredictable weather, it's better to cancel all reservations," he added.
Yesterday, a water surge phenomenon occurred at Bukit Kachi near the main campus of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in Sintok following several hours of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
The phenomenon also caused flooding to four houses and a surau in the nearby area along with a park inside UUM.
Kubang Pasu Malaysian Civil Defence Force (MCDF) officer Mohd Adenin Suhaimi reported that no temporary flood relief centres were activated following the incident yesterday.