hit districts cannot go home because their water supply has been contaminated and they fear for the health of their families. The Ministry of Health recently confirmed that 70 percent of the drinking water of underground water tanks is unfit for human consumption because it has been contaminated by sewage and flood water. The residents of Al-Samir District where the mayoralty's teams are working day and night to drain away the storm water, could hardly believe that their district has been turned into a virtual lake. A resident, Al-Salami, returned home after a week and found his water tank filled with waste. Now he cannot return until he disinfects the water tank. Mosleh, another victim, said, “After a long week of suffering I spent with my family in a furnished flat, I decided to return to my house. But the sight of the water tank filled me with terror. It is full of dirt and waste swept in by the floods.” He has now decided to delay his return until he can clean the tank. Khaled Al-Mehwai, who lives in the Al-Baghdadyia District in Jeddah, said he will wait for another month until the situation returns to normal. “What has happened is unbelievable. Along with the volunteers we have been working around-the-clock to clean the district but it is still too early to return to our houses. The district is badly affected by the devastating floods and will take us weeks to put everything in order.” Khaled Bin Mahfouz, another resident of Al-Baghdadyia District, described the situation as “bad” pointing out that overflowing septic tanks have contaminated all the water tanks in the area. He called on officials to find an urgent solution to the problem of waste in the district which serves as a breeding ground for insects and rodents.
