Azlan Othman
Continuous heavy rain had led to a landslide at Simpang 520-27-17 in Kampong Belimbing, bringing anxiety to its residents.
According to Yong Sim Fong, a resident whose house was among the affected, heavy rain in the past few days had damaged his house, located next to the hill.
“Fearing the worst, I wanted to move out and stayed somewhere else. But my mother insisted that we stayed,” he said.
“I have to stay alert. It is going to be another sleepless night for us.”
When Sunday Bulletin visited the entrance of Bukit Markucing Recreational Park yesterday afternoon, a cracking sound from the soil hitting the wall could be heard and rain water could be seen running down the hill.
Yong, who has been living in the house for 30 years, said his neighbour had spent BND20,000 to build a wall to ward off landslides a few years ago but to no avail.
“We have contacted the authorities for assistance. At least some action needs to be taken,” he said adding that, “we park our car at the road side because if the condition worsens, it will block our car park”.
Another resident said a similar landslide occurred in 2018 but not as bad as the recent incident.
More than five cars were damaged by fallen trees at the parking lot of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital on Friday evening.
The Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department last Wednesday said the Sultanate is currently in the first phase of the northeast monsoon, where generally unsettled weather conditions with showers or thunderstorms, heavy at times, are expected especially at night until early morning.
Weather condition over the country was forecast to be active until yesterday. It was due to the influence of northeasterly surge and the formation of low pressure area over the region.
The condition normally enhances the development of rain clouds and thus increases rainfall activity in the country. Showers, heavy and thundery at times, are expected with wind speed that may reach up to 45 kilometres per hour during or near heavy showers.
