JEDDAH: The Jeddah floods death toll has now reached 118 after search and rescue teams found the body of a victim on Wednesday. Brig. Muhammad Al-Qarni, spokesman for the Civil Defense and Director of Disaster Management, said that the number of people reported missing is 48. Arab News received a list of the missing people, which include 37 Saudis, four Yemenis, three Indians, two Sudanese, one Moroccan and one Kuwaiti.
Al-Qarni said committees formed to find housing for survivors managed to provide shelter for 6,979 families. The committee has also identified 9,844 properties and 8,828 damaged cars in the floods, he said.
Meanwhile, the Jeddah municipal council has given the go-ahead to the municipality to provide a comprehensive report on dealing with future heavy rain and floods. In its 59th session held on Wednesday afternoon the council demanded a complete study to determine the projects and finance needed to provide Jeddah with a complete drainage network. The municipality is set to provide the study within 45 days.
The council recommended establishing a specialized department within the municipality with responsibility for rainwater drainage and to prevent the dangers of floods.
The department could include specialists in water and building dams and could be supported by university professors and experts. The council stressed the importance on avoiding private ownership and building on land in valleys.
Meanwhile, citizens whose properties were destroyed or damaged in the recent floods demanded the Civil Defense speed up its damage assessments and administer financial assistance, Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Several victims complained that names of their family members, who would normally be eligible for assistance and compensation, did not appear in the relevant lists.
“The names are omitted even though I submitted the documents including all the names of our family members to the damage assessment committee,” Saeed Mutairy, a Saudi affected by the flood, said.
“My family card carried the names of my two grown up sons. But the assessment committee omitted their names from the list,” another victim Omar Mutairy said.
He said his case was not an isolated one as several other people complained about the same thing.
Another affected citizen, Muhammad Al-Shahri, said the Civil Defense should seek the assistance of other departments while assessing the damages and preparing lists.
Residents also demanded the assessment committees visit affected neighborhoods, particularly houses with families comprising mainly of old women and children, who cannot go to the Civil Defense offices.
Some said several of the houses where flood victims live could collapse any moment.
Col. Ali Al-Otaibi, director of the Center for Shelter Information at the Civil Defense, said clear instructions were issued to field committees assessing damages. People who suffered losses should present themselves with necessary documents before the committee and register their names. People without documents should bring a certificate from the umdah (an official village head) supporting their claims. The committee will verify the claims after visiting the claimant to conduct further investigations and had the support of other related departments, he said.
