Eighteen are being sheltered at the Penampang Cultural Centre and the rest at the Tun Said Keruak community hall and Taun Gusi II Secondary School in Kota Belud.

The floods followed heavy rain which lasted from yesterday afternoon until late in the night.

The Civil Defence Force said in an update this morning that thousands of people in the districts of Penampang, Tuaran, Kota Belud, Keningau, Pitas, Kota Marudu and Beaufort were affected.

It said 19 villages had been flooded in Kota Belud, where the water in the river had reached dangerous levels.

Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang said in a statement she had mobilised a “broom army” to assist in the cleaning of public areas, schools and homes for the elderly, sick and disabled in Penampang.

“Donggongon town and the surrounding areas were all flooded, and from last night until this morning, many areas are still cordoned off due to the dangerous high water level,” she said.

She said the depth of the Moyog River had reached a danger level of 9.11m last night, and the district disaster management committee had been activated.

There has been no rain in the state this morning but the Malaysian Meteorological Department predicted heavy rain later today in the interior divisions, the west coast of Sabah, and Kudat and Kota Marudu.

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