The Borneo Broadcast is back!

I didn't really go anywhere.  I was just busy with a little project I had.  A friend of mine recruited me last year for a project which took place during the Gawai Dayak Celebrations.  Since I already agreed I had to devote a lot of my time to that project.  So I had to leave my blog alone for a little while.  In the next few days I will share with you what I was involved with right here on The Borneo Broadcast.  Boy I really miss doing this but I also had a lot of fun helping my friend out.

Okay back to The Borneo Broadcast.

Since the last time we spoke, a lot of things have happened, over here in Borneo, The Gawai Dayak was celebrated in it's usual fashion with a lot of family and friends catching up and enjoying each other's company with food and drinks.  In Sabah though , there was some tragedy.  An earthquake struck Sabah on June 5th at 7.15 am for 30 seconds.  The magnitude was a 5.9 to a 6.0 the strongest to affect Malaysia since 1976.

According to what I've heard and read, the epicenter was to the north of Ranau. The thing that saddened me was the fact that 18 people died on Mount Kinabalu.   I just feel sad for those who died on the mountain and all effected in one way or another by this tragedy.  There were many who were stranded as they were climbing Mount Kinabalu.

The real story to me is the story of the mountain guides.  They were the heroes who helped, who rescued and some who gave their lives to save their charges.  Stories are everywhere on Facebook, in the news about these selfless guides who risked all to save a group of strangers to get to safety.  They are Heroes in my book.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost their loved one during this tragedy.  The students from Tanjong Katong Primary School and the Guide who died.

The Sabah earthquake came as a surprise because tremors of that size are estimated to happen there only about once a century - and Malaysia does not lie on any tectonic plate boundaries.  There were also reports about Supernatural beliefs gaining strength when seemingly inexplicable natural disasters occur,

Dr Paul Porodong a Universiti Malaysia Sabah anthropologist said that despite no proof that the Sabah earthquake was due to Mount Kinabalu climbers who stripped for a photo recently, they are being blamed because the incident "fits well with local belief".

The Humanities, Arts and Heritage Faculty senior lecturer said photographs of the nearly nude mountaineers, which caused anger when shared online earlier this week, came just days before the deadly Friday earthquake.

Mount Kinabalu is one of the most revered "temples" to the Kadazandusun community, he said, and acts of disrespect were long linked to accidents.

This picture is from yahoo.com.

There was a lot of damage during the earthquake, the peaks on Mount Kinabalu known as the Donkey's Ears broke off, nearby the Poring hot water springs a popular tourist destination, it was reported that the water turned black after the earthquake.  Other infrastructures were also reportedly damaged with around 23 schools in six different districts affected, while Ranau Mosque was effectively damaged due to the tremor. Other infrastructures were also reportedly damaged with around 23 schools in six different districts affected, while Ranau Mosque was effectively damaged due to the tremor.  Serious damage occurred to the hostels and resthouse near the summit of Mount Kinabalu. Buildings were similarly affected in Kota Belud, Tuaran while other area like Kundasang and Ranau suffered water supply disruption.

All is being done is help those affected by the earthquake.  Again my thoughts and prayers are with family and friends in Sabah.

Thanks for reading, I'll be back with another Borneo Broadcast.  Always take care.