JEDDAH – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered an inventory of all losses suffered by citizens because of rain in one month. The instructions were made in cables sent to Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad Bin Naif and Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. The King also ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay one-month salary to each member of Civil Defense who performed his duty with all devotion and sincerity.
In the cable, King Abdullah said that he will look into compensating the citizens for their losses. The cables follow the King's instructions last week to the authorities concerned to mobilize all potential to rescue and rehabilitate the flood-affected people and take immediate precautionary measures against flash floods. The King also directed the provision of financial and material help to them. In implementation of the King's directives, Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah, Minister of State, Cabinet Member, and Commander of the National Guard, directed the National Guard to participate along with other government agencies in the rescue and evacuation operations. National Guard units have rushed to Taif, Quwaiyiah, Hail, Wadi Al-Dawasser and other areas affected by floods. Prince Khaled Bin Bandar, Emir of Riyadh region, who is also Chairman of Riyadh's Civil Defense Committee, chaired on Saturday an emergency meeting of the committee in presence of Prince Turki Bin Abdullah, Deputy Emir of Riyadh region. They reviewed efforts of the committee in rescue, evacuation, and relief operations as well as conducting inventory of losses due to rains and floods. Prince Khaled expressed condolences to the victims' families, urging all citizens and residents to abide by civil defense instructions as much as possible. About a dozen people have died and many are missing after nearly a week of heavy rain triggered flash floods in the Kingdom. Many people have drowned in several flood-affected regions. The body of a man was recovered on Thursday in Kowaiyia. Another body was found in Al-Baha. Rescue teams evacuated many villages in the south-western Bisha province, after a sand dam at the valley of Tabala partially collapsed. Authorities have been urging people to avoid valleys and plains flooded by heavy rainfall, which has continued since last Friday. At least 250 rescue officers have been deployed, along with 15 divers, at Al-Aqiq dam. The heavy rains have almost filled the dam, with around 20 centimeters left before it overflows. Saudi Arabia has not experienced such a high volume of rainfall for 25 years. Meanwhile, in implementation of the directives of King Abdullah to provide medical aid for Gaza Strip hospitals, the sixth batch of Saudi medical aid arrived at Arish Airport on Saturday. The batch was received by representatives of Saudi, Egyptian and Palestinian ministries of health and a number of officials. Egyptian Health Ministry Representative Dr. Tarek Khater said in a statement that the medical aid consists of 11 tons of medicines and medical supplies. – SG
