Aside from compensation for their losses, the returning residents want the urgent repair of the Umm Al-Khair check dam, measures to do away with disease-carrying insects, paving of streets and retrieval of vehicles still stuck in stagnant waters.
“We the people of Al-Nakheel district cannot sleep peacefully until the strategic Umm Al-Khair dam is repaired and ready to withstand flash floods. You cannot wait indefinitely to rebuild the burst dam. Allah alone knows when the next flood hits the area,” said resident Muneer Al-Otaibi.
He added that schools in the district should not be relocated.
“What we should do is make the district totally safe so that schools can operate here instead of shifting to safer places,” he said.
The residents also fear that they would be affected by dengue fever, which is likely to spread in the district unless the small and big pools formed after the flood have been dried up or disinfected, Haleel Al-Malki, another resident, said.
The dry silt and mud on the streets and other places are likely to cause asthma or other allergic ailments to kids, Al-Malki pointed out.
However, Riyadh Saeedi said he nearly forgot all his sufferings over the past half a month after returning homes.
“We feel like life has returned to normalcy, especially when we see our children going to school. However that does not mean that everything is OK here. There are a lot of things to be done.”
