Tamin state assemblyman Datuk Joseph Mauh Ikeh said the government would help with funds to level the new longhouse site.
“Many longhouse communities are reluctant to relocate from the riverside because they have become used to travel by boat and fishing in the river.
“Many of the longhouses can now be accessed by road and they can relocate to higher ground near the access road,” he told reporters after visiting a flood evacuation centre at SJKC Tong Ah here.
Joseph Mauh said 70 per cent of the 300 longhouses in the district had been relocated to higher ground near the access road.
He also said that all the longhouses in the district were expected to be linked by road by 2019.
Joseph Mauh said three boats with outboard engines would be made available in Selangau for the evacuation of flood victims in the future.
He advised the relevant authorities to provide items such as blankets, mattresses, mats and such before the flood season for distribution to the people.
Earlier, he handed over foodstuff, blankets, disposable diapers and other items provided by the Sibu branch of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Board (FAMA), Department of Civil Defence and Social Welfare Department to the flood victims at the evacuation centre.
The number of evacuees at the centre had dropped to 241 people from eight longhouses as at 2 pm compared to 366 people from 15 longhouses in the morning.
— BERNAMA
