KUALA LUMPUR: Some 1,200 residents of Long Ikang in Sarawak face the imminent risk of losing their longhouses to the Baram River as riverbank erosion worsens, an activist warned.
Peter Kallang, the chairman of Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Save Rivers, said a gabion wall built about a year ago has proven ineffective. One longhouse now stands just 3m from the river’s edge, down from more than 15m a decade ago.
“Urgent action is needed before the next flood causes further erosion that could sweep our homes into the Baram River,” Kallang told the New Straits Times. “We call on the authorities to take immediate and permanent measures to address the problem.”
Residents were forced to move a 42-year-old chapel 2km inland after it nearly collapsed into the river, Kallang said.
The Kenyah-Kayan settlement, about a 40-minute boat ride from Long Banyok in Miri, has faced severe erosion along a 3.5km stretch of the riverbank for the past 20 years.
Four years ago, in 2021, the longhouse was submerged four times during floods. Kallang warned the next onset of torrential rain could be catastrophic.
The Baram River, one of Sarawak’s major waterways, is prone to flooding and erosion, threatening riverside communities. The northeast monsoon, which runs from November to March and peaks in December and January, brings heavy rainfall.
Moist air from the South China Sea often triggers flooding along rivers including the Baram, Rajang, and Limbang.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
