MADINAH, 29 January 2005 — Early estimates by the committee formed to assess flood damage in Madinah are set at SR500 million, but the final tally is expected to exceed a billion riyals.
Floodwaters damaged entire road systems, private homes, farms and cars, with most of the damage reported in Khayber, Badr, Yanbu and Wadi Farie provinces.
Despite continued access problems, the committee is conducting daily trips to flood-ravaged areas to evaluate the destruction.
Abdul Kareem Al-Hunaini, deputy governor of Madinah, said final tallies of the total losses will be announced once the committee submits its findings.
Gen. Saleh Al-Muhawas, chief of the Madinah Fire Department, said that the damage is extensive, and much time will be needed to determine all the losses.
The department so far has distributed nearly 350 tents to flood victims and about 700 blankets in addition to food and water throughout distressed areas. The village of Al-Yatama has been isolated since roadways were destroyed by floodwaters. The fate of dozens of farm workers there is still unknown.
Meanwhile, villagers are seeking municipal help with the quick burning of the carcasses of farm animals killed in the flood before disease spreads as well as restoration of road links with the outside. The village remains without electricity and plagued with spotty communications. Villagers are asking utilities to repair the power grid and for more powerful communications towers to improve signal strength in the area.
Madinah newspaper visited the ravaged areas and found that while some are dealing with the consequences of the flood, others are still trying to figure out all that has happened to them.
Farm owner Hulaiel has been unable to reach his farm for days to check on his workers, equipment and animals.
He believes his equipment and livestock are gone, but he still is trying to determine the fate of his workers stranded there when the flood hit.
Ali Al-Amri searched for hours when he discovered his father missing from their home in the village of Wadi Farie. After fighting floodwaters to get to his home, he searched until he found his father badly injured and clinging to a tree after being carried more than a kilometer by the deluge. He managed to carry his father to the top of a nearby hill where the two were later rescued by a Fire Department team.
The 13 members of the Al-Luqmani family who were killed in the raging torrent remains the greatest single tragedy of the flood. One family member who was married days earlier learned of his devastating loss after returning from his honeymoon.
Prince Muqrin, governor of Madinah, plans a meeting today with the committee and Fire Department officials to decide the next steps in the municipality’s disaster response efforts.
