MAKKAH: A number of lawyers here are offering their services pro bono to Saudis and foreign residents seeking compensation for damages related to last week’s flash flooding that killed at least 106, flooded entire districts and destroyed thousands of cars.

Saad Al-Qahtani, one of the lawyers in the group, said the free counsel would be offered to those who seek compensation against the municipalities of Jeddah and Makkah.

“The idea of setting up the group came to my mind when I visited the district of Bahra after the rain and saw that about 3,500 families had lost their homes or properties,” he said.

He described the losses as “tragic” and said Saudi and foreign families in the area have lost their houses, cars, properties and official documents.

“These immense losses give the citizens and expatriates the right to ask the municipalities for material and moral compensation,” he said.

He asked anyone wishing to file a suit demanding compensation to come to his office in Makkah in person to give him power of attorney in writing and prepare a detailed report about the losses incurred.

“We have agreed among ourselves that my office will be the place for receiving complaints and we have set up a team of lawyers to receive the victims and prepare a separate file for each one of them,” he said.

Lawyer Badr Al-Rouki said he decided to join the effort after he saw a picture of a two-year-old girl lying dead in the mud. The establishment of the panel was delayed because most of the members were busy doing Haj.

Al-Rouki said the first week of the committee’s business would be dedicated to receiving complaints and reports while the second week would be the time for filing the complaints at the courts.

He asked experienced engineers and psychiatrists to join the committee to assist it in its work, each in his own specialization.

“The engineers will assess the damage while the psychiatrists will give counseling to the victims,” he said.

Al-Rouki said the committee was ready to give free advice to the investigation committee set up by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

Lawyer, Muhammad Nahar, a member of the group, accused many government organization of slackness in the face of the disaster, including, in addition to the municipalities, the Ministry of Transport and the General Audit Bureau.