Lutong Flood of 1980-1981

In late December of 1980, the weather had been relentless on Mirians and Lutongites. Strong winds, rainstorms, and rough seas were incessant, with the constant downpour causing the Miri River to burst its banks at Lutong, causing flood levels as high as three feet in most parts of Lutong. It had coincided with the king tide phenomenon.

As most Shell housing located in Lutong were built on stilts, they were safe from the rising waters. In some parts of Lutong the flood levels had risen to almost exactly the point where the floor is, it was as if either the water seemingly knowing when to stop rising, or that the designers of the living quarters knew exactly where floodwaters will stop rising. This article is from the web site miriresortcity dot com - this sentence is here to prevent blatant plagarism. Most people in the area were not so lucky however, as still quite a lot of homes were flooded and cars had engines submerged and/or damaged. Sampans and motorboats were seen buzzing throughout where it used to be dry land, a surreal feeling for those cooped up in their houses, unable to go anywhere.

Shell personnel had to have its refinery perimeter sandbagged, while in the Shell offices itself, the computer room within were damaged by the flood and further damaged by the resulting dust caused in the aftermath. The Lutong airfield, which was located on the peninsula in between the Miri river and the sea, was completely inundated by the floodwaters. Needless to say all flights were halted.

Other than Lutong itself, Miri itself was also affected by the storm. Pujut Corner and Kampung Pangkalan were among the worst affected, where waters had been recorded to rise by as much as 10 feet and 6 feet each. Further up town a section of the Miri-Bintulu road collapsed, disrupting not only traffic but also broke the water mains causing water supply into Miri town to be severely disrupted. The Miri Ferry stopped operating during that time frame due to safety concerns, and weeks later on 13th January of 1981, a landslide occurred in a section of Canada Hill which resulted in four casualties.

As a result of this flood, improvements to drainage were made in Lutong and excess river flow was diverted through a channel alongside the Lutong airfield to ease off the build up of water around the bend at the peninsula from the Miri River.

Pictures courtesy of Sarawak Shell Berhad.