445 people have been displaced by the fires in Sabah as relief efforts focus on the safety and immediate assistance of victims in the affected areas.
Published on 19 April 2026
Hundreds of people have been displaced after a fire destroyed about 200 homes in a coastal village in Malaysia’s Sabah state, state news agency Bernama reports.
District fire and rescue chief Jimmy Lagung was quoted as saying that authorities received reports of the fire in Sandakan district at about 1.32am on Sunday (17:32 GMT, Saturday).
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“The fire spread quickly due to strong winds and proximity to homes, while low tide conditions also made it difficult to access an open water source,” Bernama quoted Lagung as saying.
The fire broke out in one of Sabah’s water villages, which consist of wooden houses built on stilts and home to some of the country’s poorest communities, including many stateless and indigenous groups.
About 445 people have been displaced so far, Bernama said, citing unofficial figures of people registered at a temporary relief center in Sandakan.
Sandakan District Disaster Management Committee head Datuk Walter Kenson said an investigation into the village found that the houses of affected residents were “no longer safe to live in”.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the federal government was coordinating with Sabah authorities to provide basic assistance and temporary rehabilitation to the affected people.
“The priority now is the safety of the victims and immediate assistance on the ground,” he said in a Facebook post.
