KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu City Hall is looking into the state capital's drainage system as one of the priority areas in addressing climate change, Assistant Minister to Chief Minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir.
"When global warming occurs, the icebergs will melt and the sea level is expected to rise, thus causing some islands to sink.
"If I remember correctly, like in the West Indies, where they depend on tourism, some of these islands might get submerged. This will also happen in Thailand, which I read in an article.
"In Kota Kinabalu, we also need to see how global warming will affect the state capital," said the minister in charge of KK City Hall after launching the Report on Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation for Kota Kinabalu Climate Change Action Plans 2024-2030 at a hotel here.
Present was mayor Datuk Seri Dr Sabin Samitah.
During the press conference, one of his officers said that in January 2021, the exceptionally high tide had caused seawater to overflow and police officers had to be deployed to maintain order and safety.
The phenomenon had also damaged some of the retention walls along Likas Bay and is eroding the beach.
Several houses at water villages here and in Sandakan collapsed following the high tide.
Earlier during the launch, Abidin said that as climate change was a global issue, collaboration with other local authorities was beneficial.
"As the third tier of governance, local governments play a crucial role in engaging and communicating with the community.
"This positions us to be primary influencers in fostering a more socially conscious civil society and to better understand the challenges confronting our city.
"This climate change actions report builds on the city's existing mitigation-focused plans, including the Kota Kinabalu Green City Action Plan."
According to the report, apart from the sea level rise, other two main climate hazards are floods and heatwaves.
Asked whether KK City Council had received any funding from other developed countries apart from the federal government for climate change mitigation efforts, Sabin said the local authority had received some and had done due diligence before accepting those offers.