Tuesday January 23, 2007
Beach erosion posing danger Story and photos by SAZUKI EMBONG BACHOK: While all of Kelantan is bracing for floods, 14 families in Kampung Pulau Belongan along Pantai Irama here are facing a different kind of threat from nature beach erosion. When the families first settled in the area some three decades back, the shoreline was 15m away but now, the waves have come right up to their houses as more and more sand is being washed away with each passing day. Fisherman Abdul Rahman Jusoh, 82, said the land behind their homes which face away from the sea began to subside last month and had continued to do so since. "This has been caused by the changing tides in the South China Sea," he said. According to housewife Lijah Dollah, both the state government and Federal Government have given aid to the families because of their predicament and to help them over this period as the monsoon season does not allow most of the fishermen to go to sea. "We got RM300 from PAS and RM500 from the Federal Government as well as food. We are grateful for the prompt aid but are worried about the safety of our homes," she said. Fishmonger Nik Mat Idris, 50, said most of the villagers would like to be relocated as they feared that their zinc and attap houses would collapse because of the soil subsidence. State Drainage and Irrigation Department director Lim Chow Hock said it was taking measures to protect the beach. "We are in the process of installing a rock embankment along the stretch affected by the erosion," he said. Lim, who blamed the erosion on the unusually strong waves that began hitting the Bachok coastline from Dec 20, said although the waves had eased off, their effect had set in. It was up to the state government to decide if the affected families needed to be relocated, he added.//Thetar
