Warning sirens for east Jeddah demanded by rights groupsJEDDAH: Residents of flood-hit Umm Al-Khair district, east of Jeddah, demanded Friday that the mayoralty build a dam on the east side of their district to protect them from the floods. They said that the dam on the west side has to be removed. They returned to their homes Friday to clean up after heavy rains flooded their houses Thursday. They were seen with mayoralty cleaning companies, civil defense officials and volunteers checking the condition of their flood-ravaged homes. The home of Dr. Abdullah Al-Malki, which was badly affected by the flood disaster in November 2009, was again a victim of floods caused by this week's heavy downpour. “I spent more than one million riyals to buy this villa. I decided to live here because it is close to my work at King Abdul Aziz Medical City at the National Guard,” he said. He said that construction in the area was approved officially, but when residents discovered the land was situated on a flood route, they demanded that a dam be built on the east side. “Once the rain started I told my family to stay on the second floor and not to go down because there was water everywhere,” he said. Al-Malki said that his new Lexus car was badly damaged. “We don't need the mayoralty officials to help us clean the area, we need them to provide a permanent solution for our district.” He pointed out that the compensation paid to them last year was not enough because the residents had to spend more than 10 times that amount to fix their homes. Another resident said that the district was inundated because the ground was not level. “The level of rain water is different from one house to another. You can see it clearly. The level of water in some homes was one-and-a-half meters, while in other homes it only reached half a meter,” said Hussam Habes, a resident of Umm Al-Khair district. He added that his family left their house last Wednesday when they heard that rain was coming. Meanwhile, residents lashed out at Dr. Hani Abu Ras, the Jeddah Mayor, who visited the area. “How long do we have to suffer like this?” asked one of the residents of Umm Al-Khair at a meeting Friday. “The district will be a top priority of the municipality,” replied Abu Ras, in an attempt to appease residents. Eadhah Al-Sufyani, a Saudi national, said: “We see this pattern reoccur all the time, with promises evaporating after the storm leaves.” “It's either us or the dam,” shouted a resident from the crowd. “Why is the owner of the district not being questioned about this catastrophe?” asked another resident. Meanwhile, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) have called for sirens to be used to warn residents in east Jeddah about the possible danger of floods. The two bodies have received support from the Presidency for Meteorology and the Environment (PME). They also demanded that the mayoralty sign contracts with a number of companies and establishments to provide tanker trucks to pump out the water collected on the streets after the rain in the city. The commission and society on Thursday night formed a roaming team to check on the efforts of government administrations and their management of the flood crisis. The team comprising Ibrahim Al-Nahyani, Supervisor of the HRC branch in Makkah region and Ma'toug Al-Shareef, member of the NSHR, was critical of the insufficient number of tanker trucks to pump water from streets and the alleged delay in their arrival. They said many homes were inundated with water and many streets had broken-down cars. Al-Nahyani and Al-Shareef said, “We registered some observations and we are communicating with the government authorities.” “It is worth mentioning that there is no mechanism for immediate payment of cash, or for food and supply goods to be provided to flood victims. Furthermore, the Civil Defense did not warn the residents of Umm Al-Khair of possible rainfall. We confirmed this from the members of 20 families that requested shelter. We also confirmed what caused the drowning of a father and his three children in Makkah. We offer our condolences to the family.” Many roads and mountain passes were closed across the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Brigadier Abdullah Jedawi, Director of the Civil Defense in Jeddah, said a committee has been formed to count the damaged houses and vehicles in Jeddah starting Saturday.
