JIZAN, 19 April 2004 — Severe flooding here has killed at least five people and left many more homeless.
The Civil Defense recovered five bodies from different valleys in the area — two each in Jafera and Futaiha and one in Sabya — according to press reports. Thirteen elderly people were also rescued as water surrounded their villages and were taken to hospital, sources told Okaz Arabic newspaper.
Rainwater destroyed several roads near the border with Yemen and forced many residents to stay in tents after watching their homes destroyed.
For the third day running, rescue helicopters distributed food and clothing to affected families in the Tihama area. So far, 45 families out of more than 300 in 10 villages have been supplied with food aid since Thursday.
The director of Asir Civil Defense, Brig. Gen. Saad Al-Harithy, has ordered the closure of Shaar and Dela roads because of the falling debris.
In Jizan city, more than 400 female elementary school students were trapped by rainwater and sewage. Many schools in the area have been closed due to the flooding.
“The situation is very bad and we are afraid that disease might invade the area,” local resident Othman Iskandar said. “We want the municipality to act soon and clean the area before a health disaster strikes.”
The municipality told Okaz it was pumping out water from the neighborhoods and operations would continue until the entire area was clean.
Hadi Al-Qahtani, from Al-Sabkha village in the south, said that floods covered up to 50 percent of the village. The water level rose 100 cm, damaging furniture and destroying homes. “Most families are living in tents after their homes were destroyed,” he said. “The only school in the area needs to be rebuilt after flood destroyed some of the walls.”
The only mosque in the village is also flooded. “Mosquitoes that come after rain threaten the area with malaria. The only road that connects the outside world with our village is washed out. The only solution is to build new bridges,” he added.
