DHAMAD – Al-Jahu villagers in the southern Jazan region are afraid of heavy rains and flash floods as a deluge hit them 13 years ago destroying their homes, shops and agricultural crops. They said: "We need a strong flood preventing system urgently before another deluge hits us." Floods in the past have caused untold miseries to the people of Al-Jahu, located 8 km east of Dhamad, a township in the region. Over the past years Dhamad and its neighboring villages have witnessed remarkable development projects. "We still remember the huge flood that hit Al-Jahu about four years ago. Many people escaped death by the blessings of Allah," said Ismail Jaaran. "Since that deluge our main demand is to find a permanent solution to prevent such natural catastrophes," he said. "One solution is to shift the village to a safer place," he added. Village chief Abdullah Mansour spoke about the 2003 deluge. "Our village has been hit by a number of floods and the deluge that occurred on July 20, 2003 was the worst as it destroyed a number of homes and properties," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. A ministerial committee, set up following the deluge, called for implementing short-term and long-term solutions. "But the flood-prevention solutions have so far remained on paper." He said many houses in the village are located below the level of roads. Unpaved roads, stalled girls school and lack of parks and recreation centers are other problems facing Al-Jahu villagers. Telecom, electricity and other service firms have damaged its roads. During the rainy season, the village roads are filled with water and motorists find it difficult to drive through inundated roads dotted with potholes. Hassan Miteb spoke about another major issue facing the village. "We lack street lights and the village falls into darkness soon after sunset," he said and urged the new chairman of Dhamad municipality to visit the village in order to see its development needs. Mohammed Al-Jahui stressed the need to complete the girls school project as girls in the village have to travel long distance to reach their school now in nearby townships. "We were happy when construction equipment arrived at the school site but before starting building works the contractor has taken away the equipment. We don't know the reason," Al-Jahui said. Mousa Abdullah said the Endowment Department had not given any attention to the villagers' request to establish a Eid prayer ground. He urged the department to destroy the previous Eid ground, which has become a dumping area for garbage, and construct a new one. "We need a rainwater drainage system to protect our homes from flash floods," said Mousa Al-Jahui. "We also need parks and recreation centers." Hussein Hindi urged the municipality to repair the district's damaged road system. Yahya Miteb called upon the Jazan municipality to take precautionary measures to protect Al-Jahu residents from potential torrential floods.
