JEDDAH: Quwaizah looks like a war zone, its population has dramatically fallen with many residents leaving to escape the intolerable conditions in the aftermath of the Nov. 25 flashfloods.

Only a few families have remained, such as that of Ayed Muhammad Ali, an aged Yemeni from Hadhramout, who decided to stay put since they have nowhere else to go.

Ali was found sitting on the ground outside his home. Ali, who suffers from a serious disease, asked relief workers for blankets for him, his wife and their eight children.

Ali’s family narrowly escaped the flashfloods through the help of their African neighbors.

His home was one of the first to be hit, as it is located on the edge of Quwaizah close to the mountains from where the waters originated.

The torrent that flowed Ali’s way smashed walls and ran through his home. The house — a humble abode with a wooden ceiling — was trashed from inside with the floodwaters taking the family’s belongings with it.

He has now been left without food, water and proper furniture. His home was without electricity for several days. Speaking to Arab News, Ali said he has no other place to go and that he would remain here regardless. Most people in this part of Quwaizah are African, with a high concentration of Somalis. Arab News accompanied a group of aid workers visiting the area. Police and teams of paramedics from the Saudi Red Crescent also joined the group, as the area is deemed too dangerous to venture inside alone.

Children play in puddles with roads covered in thick sludge, and homes and shops trashed. The area is also littered with debris.

Children are unable to go to school as the nearest one is damaged and the school to which they have been transferred is too far away and they have no transport.

With volunteers distributing aid, residents who are not in need come forward to get freebies. One man approached relief workers, saying his home is in need of repair and that he needed food for his family.

When volunteers, however, asked to enter his home to inspect the damage and meet the members of his family, the man said they were not there. He was, subsequently, asked to leave and allow relief workers to help genuinely needy people.

One of the volunteers said many people are sitting on the streets as they are hungry and have no food.

He added that most people ask for food, water and help cleaning their homes.