ABU DHABI // Compensation will be given to all those displaced or left out of pocket by the heavy rain in the Northern Emirates last week.
Many face costly damages bills, particularly those near wadis, while some were forced to leave their homes.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, ordered teams to visit all areas affected by the rain.
Dr Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary general of Emirates Red Crescent, went to Ras Al Khaimah and said a number of families had to leave their homes and seek refuge with friends or relatives.
“Not all areas were affected but some areas were heavily,” he said.
People of all nationalities will be entitled to the aid, which will be paid in cash. The amount will depend on the extend of the damage.
Dr Al Falahi called on all those affected to visit a Red Crescent branch to ask for aid. Emirates Red Crescent teams will then examine the claim and make a decision.
Some were already in the process of receiving aid.
No ceiling has yet been set for compensation, Dr Al Falahi said.
“It all depends on the damages.”
During his trip this week, Dr Al Falahi met the heads of Emirates Red Crescent branches in the Northern Emirates in Ras Al Khaimah. Each branch head has been assigned to report back on areas and people affected in their areas.
After the meeting, Dr Al Falahi and a few others visited some of the worst-hit areas in RAK, including wadi Hageal, Shamal and Alrams.
They also visited farms that were affected and found that some families who were living solely off the farm produce before the floods now had nothing.
Meanwhile, Hamdan Musallam Al Mazrouei, the board chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, called on all branches to stand by all those hit by the rainfall and liaise with the different authorities in each emirate, Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National, reported.
So far the response of Emirates Red Crescent officials and volunteers has greatly cushioned the blow for those affected, Mr Al Mazrouei said.
osalem@thenational.ae
