JEDDAH: Civil Defense helicopter teams have rescued 476 people stranded by flooding and 1,451 were rescued by land teams, said Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdullah Al-Qarni, Director of the Media Center for Dealing with Emergency Cases in Jeddah. Civil Defense teams are surveying the affected areas to search for three people who are still missing and ensure that no people are stranded, he said, and 424 Civil Defense patrols, 13 rubber boats and other equipment are being used for the effort. Patrols have taken several citizens and residents to their residences throughout Jeddah, more than 4,000 families have been housed in furnished flats and the housing operations are continuing, Maj.Gen. Al-Qarni said. Teams are also working on flood-damaged thoroughfares including Haramain Road, most of which is open for motorists, he said. Other teams are supplying food and meals to people in areas affected by the floods, especially Al-Samer, Al-Tawfeek and Umm Al-Khair districts, he said, indicating that they provide 3,000 meals every day to each district and supply them with water. Al-Qarni said the Ministry of Finance has hired machinery and heavy equipment including 50 forklifts and 50 trucks to remove debris and cars stuck in these districts. He said the Civil Defense has received 319 reports and moved 97 people to hospitals, pointing out that in the first day of the disaster, authorities received reports about five missing people, two of whom were found. One person was returned home safely and the second, 12-year-old Abdul Mohsen Al-Muttari, has been reported dead.
