Buildings at Kota Kinabalu hospital vacated after landslide

 

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the landslide area had been cordoned off and covered with canvas.

KOTA KINABALU: Five buildings deemed at risk at Queen Elizabeth Hospital here, have been vacated as a safety measure after a landslide destroyed a nearby health ministry storage facility last night.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the five buildings were located in the hospital’s C complex, namely the Medicine and Consumable store, Chronic Treatment Ward, Rehabilitation Ward, Tuberculosis Clinic and the Sleep Lab.

He said that the 20-metre-wide landslide also caused structural damage to the Sleep Lab building and the Hospital Support Services store.

“The hospital has cordoned off the landslide area and covered the site with canvas. Several measures will be taken, including immediate repair works by the public works department and special welfare assistance for employees affected by the incident.

“I will go to Kota Kinabalu on Monday to see the situation there myself, and hold further discussions with the state government to detail further action that needs to be taken,” he posted on Facebook today.

Sabah deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin said immediate action will be taken by the state public works department to repair roads affected by landslides and floods in several districts in the state following continuous rain since Thursday.

Bung, who is also the state works minister, said most of the paved roads affected were under the supervision of concessionaires appointed by the government, and that they had been ordered to begin repairs immediately.

In addition, Sabah community development and people’s well-being minister, Shahelmey Yahya told reporters at the incident location here today that all safety measures have been taken to ensure that such an incident would not recur in the area.

On the flooding in the state, Shahelmey said local authorities had been asked to ensure that all drainage and rivers in the state were in good condition, to ensure that flooding did not get worse.

“We are experiencing the effects of climate change with a higher intensity of rain, causing flash floods in many areas, so the maintenance of rivers and waterways are important to channel the runoff properly,” he added. - FMT