JEDDAH: Residents of Quwaizah and other flood-hit districts toward the east of Jeddah have called for the quick reopening of a private hospital situated nearby.
The floods, which hit Jeddah on Nov. 25, damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and disrupted life in districts toward the east and south of the city.
Al-Jazeera Hospital, which was seriously damaged in the floods, used to serve about 65,000 people who live east of the Haramain Expressway. Two months after the floods, the hospital remains closed. Since the hospital is not government-run, the Directorate of Health Affairs cannot do anything in the matter, said Sami Badawood, director of Health Affairs in Jeddah.
“Eight government health centers in these districts were repaired and reopened within a few days after the floods,” said Badawood, adding that management at Al-Jazeera Hospital has been striving to reopen it.
According to residents, the lower floors of the hospital, where the operation theaters and laboratories are located, were completely damaged. A member of the hospital’s administration said the delay in finishing repairs is because the administration does not know when expenses would be paid even though the damage has been assessed by an official committee. The source said another problem was the insurance company’s refusal to pay damages to the hospital, including damage to expensive facilities such as the hospital’s operation rooms and X-ray and scanning laboratories, which were not covered by the insurance policy.
A recent official statement said a damage assessment committee headed by the Ministry of Interior and with members from the Ministry of Finance assessed damages to 11,799 properties in Jeddah’s flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, Civil Defense officers lifted the decomposed body from the debris of a wedding hall in Quwaizah on Tuesday. The body is thought to be that of a flood victim. It was taken to a morgue for identification.
A team of 498 Civil Defense officers with 109 machines and sniffer dogs are still searching for bodies in the flood-hit areas of Jeddah. The death count remains at 123 with 32 people still missing. 52 National Guard officers and 52 air force officers are also participating in the search operations.
