JEDDAH: It is one year later, but for many of those who took the brunt of the floods that devastated Jeddah's eastern districts on November 24, 2009, life has changed very little. Their neighborhoods have still not been fixed properly which has resulted in many selling their homes for a pittance and moving away. Others have gone because it was simply too painful to bear the memories of the losses suffered – of property, possessions and lives. Many did not sell, but just moved out and rented elsewhere. Residents listed a litany of problems: stagnant and foul ground and sewage water, damaged streets and pavements, the spread of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and other insects, and accumulating garbage. One person described the situation as “tragic”. The people living in the flood-hit areas are desperate to have these issues sorted out by the authorities. “We're not asking for the impossible from the officials in charge,” said one resident. He was not hopeful that anything would be done, citing the incompetence of the mayoralty in dealing with other projects, which have either been completed late or not at all. The year was almost over, but nothing has been done, he said. Residents also claimed that it was only because some officials were living in some flood-affected areas that resulted in any action from the mayoralty's service departments. This was not the case in areas which did not have the houses and property of “powerful people”. Some residents have come up with their own ideas of how to get things going, which would not waste the state's money. They said the scientific methods used by the Jeddah Mayor's Office in Al-Tawfiq and Al-Samer districts after the disaster should have been applied in their districts. Shabbab Al-Otaibi, a resident, claimed that they had asked the mayoralty to sort out the groundwater problem, but nothing was done despite the minimal cost involved. He said a scientific solution could have been applied to the problem that would have saved the state lots of money and resulted in a safer and healthier environment for residents. Residents also complained that the Mayor's Office has asked people to move from areas where they were not permitted to build, without any thought given to how they will survive and find homes. This would further exacerbate the city's increasing housing problem, similar to what is taking place in Al-Ruwais and Khuzam, they argued. Despite promises from the government, residents said they have no idea what processes are in place to ensure they get proper homes with all the necessary services, particularly in the eastern districts. They said the mayoralty is about to remove about 8,000 properties, most of them homes constructed in illegal locations in east Jeddah. They said the handling of the situation contradicts the recommendations of a ministerial committee set up to solve the housing problem. The committee, formed under the orders of King Abdullah, headed by the Second Deputy Premier, with the Emir of Makkah, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Minister of Finance and Jeddah Mayor as members, issued a number of recommendations, including the removal of houses located on flood courses, but also ensuring proper compensation, either in cash or alternative housing. Residents said the body responsible for implementing the recommendations, the mayor's office, did not work out a clear mechanism to remove people. It also did not inform residents directly about the removals. The committee's recommendations had also included the building of three dams and channels for the drainage of rainwater at a cost of SR650 million, in addition to a development study on Jeddah's eastern region. This was also not carried out, said residents.
