Dami and his wife are grief-stricken after losing their son, Saad, in the floods last Wednesday. The mother said that on the day of the torrential rain Saad was writing his half-year examinations at his secondary school in Al-Ruwais District. He called his father a few minutes before the rain began, to pick him up from the school. Umm Saad said her husband drove from the family's residence in Al-Samer District in east Jeddah and headed to the school when the rain started falling. Her husband reached the school and picked Saad up but was surprised by the floods which swept towards their car near the Al-Ruwais municipality building in the middle of Jeddah. She said the car was swept away to SAPTCO's parking lot in south Jeddah. When she heard about the situation after receiving a telephone call, she walked on foot for more than 20 kilometers from Al-Samer District in the east, to SAPTCO in south Jeddah, where her husband was unconscious and her son dead. A miracle saved her husband from death, she said. Al-Dami, the heartbroken father, described what happened: “The strong floods engulfed us on all sides so I decided to change my route and head back to Madina Road.” But this route was also flooded. He changed direction and headed to Hamra District to find a way out but all his attempts were in vain. “Eventually I headed to south Jeddah where my son met his fate.” While they were struggling to find their way, Al-Dami said Saad called his mother on her cellular phone to assure her they were safe. “The moment he switched off the phone we were surprised by the flash floods which I could not withstand. I lost control and fainted.” He said that he regained consciousness after five hours and found his son lying on his chest covered with mud near SAPTCO in south Jeddah. “I don't how we reached the place. People gathered round us. I tried to resuscitate my son and when I failed I decided to take him to the nearest hospital. I risked my life and reached King Abdul Aziz University Hospital but doctors told me that he was dead. I risked my life for the third time and drove all the way to my house to see what had happened to my family.” Umm Saad said that she would never have thought that going to a school in central Jeddah would lead to the death of her son. She said officials at the education administration had refused to transfer him to a school in Al-Samer. She said she had received a telephone call from a man who told her that her husband and son were found lying at SAPTCO station in south Jeddah. The people there had tried to report the incident to the Red Crescent but the rain had disrupted the telephone network. This was when she walked all the way from Al-Samer to south Jeddah on foot. She said she had pleaded with the Civil Defense to rescue her son and husband but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
