One of those many people who have been affected by the floods is Salima Bakhsh, a Pakistani mother of seven who lives in the Jamia district. Bakhsh’s husband earns SR800 a month. Having been born in the Kingdom, Bakhsh speaks fluent Arabic with a Saudi accent.

“My two sons go almost everyday on foot from our home to Kilo 6 where they have been told a committee will come and check our home and give us compensation. We cannot afford transportation. My sons go, but they’ve not been successful so far. It’s just like last year. My husband used to go and then gave up. We still have huge debts from last year’s floods and we’re unable to repair our home ourselves,” she said.

The family rents a two-room home for SR350. The kitchen and bathroom are shabby and the home looks unsuitable for a nine-member family. “As you can see the walls are all wet and the roof is damaged. It’s been like this since the 2009 floods,” said Bakhsh.

Sewage can be smelled at the entrance and gets stronger inside. Bakhsh showed two places from where sewage enters the home.

“We’ve placed lots of sand to dam them but that hasn’t helped much. Even the doors fell off after the flood. It happened like this the year before. We can’t afford another home. My husband has looked, but the cheapest he found was for SR700 and that area is also prone to floods. We basically have nowhere to go,” she said.

Bakhsh said no one has visited them, neither the Civil Defense nor charity organizations. “We kept thinking they would come, but they never showed up. They don’t bother with our area because it’s tucked away and not very prominent. Even the street outside remained flooded for over two weeks,” she said.

Other people have similar stories to tell. Jamila, a mother of two, lives in the Kilo 14 area. She shares a two-room home with 10 family members. The area she lives in has been hit twice by floods and is still in a dilapidated condition.

“I’ve been living in the Kilo 14 district for years and nothing used to happen. It was safe. Things changed last year and got even worse this year. We need someone to come and check on us. The electrical appliances aren’t working properly and our roof is collapsing. Our furniture is dirty and no longer of use. We had to remain without electricity for days,” said Jamila.

Although a month has passed since the floods, repair works have not started in many districts. Streets in the Sinayia, Al-Tawfeeq, Kilo 14, Jamia and Um Al-Salam remain damaged and flooded. Debris from the floods also lay strewn around. Many damaged cars are abandoned on the roadside covered in dust.

The flood, it seems, has also resulted in many people intending to sell and leave. Many buildings and plots of land had for sale signs on them.