KOTA KINABALU: It’s tough going at Bukit Garam, a flood-prone zone along Sabah’s longest river, with residents not budging from an area long declared unsafe for human settlement.

Civil defence officers struggled to evacuate nine families from floodwaters at Kg Pengkalan, Bukit Garam, a remote village along the Kinabatangan River.

In fact, all the original residents were previously relocated under a government resettlement programme to Taman Pelangi.

“When the houses were left vacant, others moved in,” said Kinabatangan Civil Defence Force officer Ahmad Roslan Mohd Kamel.

“Some were relatives, others were new settlers from nearby areas like Kuamut.” To date, Kinabatangan is the only district in Sabah still affected by floods.

These nine families occupying the abandoned homes near a dilapidated community hall have refused to evacuate despite worsening conditions.

All of them are Malaysian citizens who now rent shoplots in front of the hall.

While they are not the original residents, Ahmad Roslan stressed that they are also not illegal settlers – they simply moved into a place that had been declared off-limits.

“They’re used to the floods. Some say they don’t want to leave because all their belongings are there. Others fear theft if they abandon the place, especially since there are multiple routes into the area.”

He said the floor level of the old houses is just one foot above the ground, and floods hit as soon as the river level rises. While a few families have boats, the rest do not.

Electricity to the area has been cut off, but the residents still refuse to leave, even if it means risking their personal safety.

Officials have spent days coaxing the group to relocate, although authorities have the right to enforce mandatory evacuation under disaster response procedures.

“We are still discussing the next steps with the police as well as Fire and Rescue Department,” said Ahmad Roslan.

“Refusal to comply could result in imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to RM10,000 or both,” he said, adding that individuals could also be charged under the Penal Code’s Section 186 for obstructing officers or Section 188 for disobeying orders from public servants.

The authorities, however, are opting to give residents time and have asked local leaders and village committees to help persuade them.

Kinabatangan district officer Willey Lampaki officially declared the district a flood disaster area at 4.45pm on April 2.

Later that evening, a temporary evacuation centre (PPS) was activated at SK Bukit Garam to facilitate evacuation and coordinate relief efforts as water levels breached the danger mark.

As at 4pm on Thursday, 23 families comprising 100 individuals had taken shelter there.

Ahmad Roslan said the current flooding is due to “air besar”, a rush of water from upstream areas like Kuamut and Inara, funnelling into the Kinabatangan River.

Even though it had not rained heavily in Kg Pengkalan itself, water from upstream has overwhelmed the system.

And less than 1km away on a boat ride, a joint team from the Wildlife Department and police was deployed on Thursday after villagers reported spotting a crocodile near the bridge to Kampung Muhibah.

Ahmad Roslan said the monitoring team carried out surveillance at the site but found no physical traces of the reptile.

The Wildlife Department will be setting up a trap as a precaution. The area is not far from Tanjung Bulat – known to be the habitat of a crocodile referred to as Si Black.

The crocodile’s name still sparks fear in the local community.