Penampang district officials reported on July 5 that over 2,300 families in at least 16 villages were affected by the flood. Photo by Caritas Kota Kinabalu

“Conscientizing awareness and our responsibility to care for creation are crucial. The churches need to be more proactive in bringing [the central message of Laudato si’] across,” said Fr. Fabian Dicom, director of Caritas Malaysia.

The priest issued the call in response to severe flooding in Penampang district, part of the West Coast Division in Sabah, Malaysia.

According to district officials, on July 5, over 2,300 families were affected by the flood that hit at least 16 villages.

“The impact of the flood this time was worse than previous floods. The height of the floodwaters exceeded the usual estimates,” said Sister Anita James, coordinator of Caritas Kota Kinabalu.

Caritas organizations within the parishes of the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu swiftly reactivated their quick reaction units to assess flood damage, despite many core members being personally affected by the flooding, according to Sister James.

Last week, the national Caritas disbursed funds to aid Caritas Kota Kinabalu in purchasing equipment such as generators and water jet pumps.

Fr. Dicom, however, said that beyond providing relief and recovery aid, the Church must actively help people recognize and understand the connections between the climate crisis, human hardship, poverty, and migration issues.

“They’re all connected. The environmental crisis is so critical that we must go beyond just being prepared for disaster management,” the priest said.

Sister Anita James (center), coordinator of Caritas Kota Kinabalu leads the emergency relief operation for the communities affected by severe flooding in Penampang district in Sabah, Malaysia. Aside from the impacts of the flooding, four parishes in the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu were affected by landslides. Photo by Caritas Kota Kinabalu

Sister James admitted that the local Caritas is facing limitations in their response capabilities, stressing the need for enhanced systems to quickly identify priority families, needs, and locations.

She noted that increasing the organizational capacity of Caritas members is essential, and resources must be actively sourced to achieve this.

‘Worst-Ever Flood’

This year’s floods proved particularly devastating due to increased rainfall intensity and infrastructural developments, according to Anne B. Lasimbang, founder and executive director of PACOS Trust.

Lasimbang explained that the region experiences annual floods during the rainy season when rivers swell to their brims. However, recent changes in climate have led to more intense rainfall, concentrating heavy downpours over specific areas and exacerbating the flooding severity.

“It’s not like the rain we used to get a long time ago. Now, it rains very intensely over specific areas,” Lasimbang said.

The flooding impact has been magnified by population growth and development activities that have encroached upon natural flood plains.

Areas that once absorbed rainwater, such as swamps and paddy fields, have been filled in to accommodate this growth, removing natural barriers to flooding.

“Long ago, we used to plant paddy; we had rice fields that would absorb some of the floodwater during heavy rains,” she recalled.

The consequences of these changes have been dire. Nearly all homes in the district were affected by the recent floods, marking a significant increase from previous years.

Essential infrastructure was also hit hard, with power outages and significant damage to buildings, including schools. The government declared the area a disaster zone as emergency services struggled to cope with the widespread damage.

“Almost all the houses in our district were affected; that means even those that were never flooded before, like our office, couldn’t escape this time,” Lasimbang told LiCAS.News. “We got flooded, and so did our school and everything else. The government declared our area a disaster area.”

Indigenous communities, who traditionally live along riverbanks, have been disproportionately affected, according to Lasimbang.

The modernization of infrastructure, such as the introduction of piped water, has distanced these communities from their traditional ways of interacting with the river, diminishing their ability to anticipate and respond to floods based on historical knowledge.

“We kind of get disconnected. Sometimes, because of that, we are not mindful or we don’t see the changes,” Lasimbang noted.

Lasimbang’s organization, which has been extending support to Indigenous communities in Malaysia, has mobilized to coordinate disaster response efforts with Caritas and other Church groups.

However, Lasimbang emphasized that more long-term support is needed, particularly for poorer families and undocumented workers who do not qualify for government aid.

“The locals will get aid from the government, but all those non-Malaysian foreigners will not get any aid. So I think we will try to work with Caritas to also provide them with some aid because I’m sure they’re also suffering,” she said.