The inhabitants of the badly mauled Al-Sawaed District here hold the mayoralty responsible for issuing them title deeds for lands located in dangerous valley areas. “We didn't build our houses in undeveloped areas as some people claim because we possess title deeds,” some residents told Okaz Friday. “Besides, electricity was provided to our homes several years ago,” they added. Residents here wondered why they were given title deeds and were provided with electricity if they were deemed to be residing in undeveloped areas. Al-Sawaed residents have demanded that officials who surveyed the district and issued construction permits should be brought to book. “Now who will compensate us for the human and material losses we have suffered because of this negligence?” they asked. Muhammad Al-Abdullah, a long-time resident of the district, said: “I was at work when the rains started. Fortunately my family members saved themselves by going to some relatives in the neighborhood, but the floods turned our home into a heap of bricks.” However, others were not so fortunate. “A well-built home collapsed in front of my own eyes and a woman and her three children were buried under the rubble,” another resident said. A woman was seen searching frantically for her three daughters under the rubble of her house. “When the floods started, my three daughters went into the house to get their abayas but the floodwaters swept them away,” she lamented.
