Rice, Al Quran, among items destroyed in flood at Maahad Tahfiz Al Jauhar

KOTA TINGGI, March 4 (Bernama) -- A tonne of rice, Al-Quran, books, and computers were among the items that were submerged in the flood at Maahad Tahfiz Al Jauhar (MTAJ) in Kampung Lukut, here, on Wednesday.

Its principal Mohammad Afdhaluddin Ismail said the March 1 incident at about 2.20 am happened in a flash and they did not have time to move those items to a higher place.

He said the flood this time was the worst as water entered all rooms including the dormitory, teachers' rooms, administrative offices, library, kitchen and dining hall, with water level up to the calves, before receding again at 5 am.

"At the time of the incident, I was in Kuala Lumpur and received a Whatsapp message from the staff telling me that the water was rising too quickly because the warden had just completed his patrol 15 minutes before the incident.

"We suspect a water surge occurred because there is a ditch behind the Maahad, and the flood this time is the worst because water entered all the rooms," he said when met at the Maahad, yesterday.

He said at the time of the incident, there were 140 male students including 20 candidates who were sitting the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kota Jaya, here.

However, he said, all the students were safe and had gathered at the surau while all 20 SPM students involved were moved to the examination hall in stages with the cooperation of the Kota Tinggi District Education Office.

Mohammad Afdhaluddin also welcomes public donations in the form of essential items such rice and sugar. 

"Yesterday several parties including NGOs came to help, our most important priority is the supply of food for students.

"We need almost two tonnes of rice a month which is a critical item," he said adding that donations can be channelled through the Maybank account Maahad Tahfiz Al Jauhar 551070426214 or call 019-2441406.

-- BERNAMA