Flood relief mission in Kelantan

From October 3 to 5, the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD), led by Director Dr Gary Liew and Ministry of the Poor Coordinator Aaron Koh, conducted a flood relief mission in Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas, Kelantan, near the Thai border.

Oct 18, 2024

Local villagers working together to build emergency rafts.


By Aaron Koh
From October 3 to 5, the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD), led by Director Dr Gary Liew and Ministry of the Poor Coordinator Aaron Koh, conducted a flood relief mission in Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas, Kelantan, near the Thai border.

The mission, organised in partnership with the Kelantan Disaster Relief Network (KDRN) and Crisis Relief Services and Training (CREST), focused on building emergency rafts for villagers in flood-prone areas. Several kampungs benefited from the initiative, with rafts constructed to help safeguard essential items during future floods.

The emergency rafts are part of CREST’s disaster risk reduction plan, designed to help high-risk, flood-prone villages protect electrical equipment and essential items during floods and minimise damage and losses.

This project, a collaboration between CREST and AOHD, began earlier this year with on-ground assessments and support from KDRN to identify villages in need and source materials locally. Each of these 13.38 square metre rafts costs over RM2,500 to build using high-quality tools to ensure safety and buoyancy. The rafts can hold goods for five to six families and are equipped with a canvas roof to protect items from getting wet while remaining anchored during floods.

AOHD also sought cooperation from the Civil Defence Force (Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia) to ensure the success of this project. With the assistance of local villagers, 30 emergency rafts were built, at a pace of approximately three rafts per day. The goal is to complete and hand over the rafts before the Northeast Monsoon hits the country.

The number of emergency rafts will increase as the need grows, with AOHD aiming to continue its partnership with KDRN and CREST to assist more flood victims and reach other affected communities. Resident Juliana Mat Zaid, 48, expressed her gratitude for the donation, saying the emergency raft was essential in a flood situation. “Our settlement was submerged in water up to five meters, resulting in the loss of property, including many electrical items,” she said. “I had considered building a raft like this, but the high cost made it impossible. Praise the Lord, today we received this raft, and I promise to take good care of it so it can be used whenever floods strike.”

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