Hajj wraps up as floods wreak havoc in Saudi city

Around two million Muslim pilgrims in Mecca launched into the final rituals of the Hajj pilgrimage on Saturday as flash floods wreaked havoc in the city of Jeddah, where Saudi Arabia's civil defense authorities put the death toll at 103 people and a human rights lawyer said he would sue the city.

Tens of thousands of the faithful were circling the Kaaba at the heart of the mosque in Mecca while many more continued the three stage ritual of stoning of the devil at the jamarat pillars in the nearby city of Mina.

The stoning -- casting 49 pebbles against the three broad stone pillars over two or three days -- mark Abraham's three rejections of the devil's attempts to persuade him to ignore God's instructions to sacrifice his son Ishmael, as related in Islam's holy book the Quran.

After the stoning they circumambulate the Kaaba to complete Hajj, required of all able Muslims and for many a purifying, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Many who had completed the rigorous process were out on the streets of Mecca shopping for souvenirs to take back when departures begin en masse late Saturday.

Saudi-style jalabiya caftans, prayer beads, Saudi perfumes and dates were popular with pilgrims, along with jugs of holy water for drinking and ablutions produced by the Zam Zam well inside the Grand Mosque.

Trouble-free Hajj

Against fears of a mass outbreak of swine flu and deadly stampedes of past pilgrimages, Saudi authorities said this year's Hajj was mostly trouble-free.

In the event, less than 100 suspected flu infections were reported and only five deaths, all of people already suffering other afflictions, according to Saudi health officials.

Intense preparation and screening for the flu, and the construction of new walkways designed to avoid crushes, were credited with the lack of any disasters.

"The measures were very effective," said Algerian pilgrim Mohammed Fazeli.

"Frankly, I did not witness any impact of crowd congestion or the swine flu," said Ahmad Mansour Sissi, a Senegalese government official.

Frankly, I did not witness any impact of crowd congestion or the swine flu

Pilgrim

Flash floods

The only problem, most said, was the downpour on Wednesday that sparked flash floods in nearby Jeddah that killed 98, according to the Saudi civil defense authorities.

The rains caused minor flooding in Mecca and jammed up bus transport for pilgrims between Mecca and Mina, but there were no pilgrim deaths, according to authorities.

In Jeddah, where roads and bridges in some parts of the city were swept away, authorities said transport routes for pilgrims to the international airport and the seaport Hajj terminals were clear after rescue workers were forced to air lift people out of the city.

Officials warned that the death toll could rise and people in Jeddah were urged to take precautions as more rain was predicted.

Dr. Sami Bdaoud, the director of health affairs in Jeddah, warned against coming in contact with the water as it may be contaminated with bacteria that cause diseases.

Meanwhile a Saudi human rights lawyer, Walid Abu al-Kheir, said he will sue the city of Jeddah, with backing from the victim's families, for mismanagement of city works construction by the Jeddah government as a key cause for the flooding.

"They didn't make the drainage work. They have told us for three years or more that it has been completed," he said. "Even people from the city government said there were mistakes."

More than 11,000 people joined a Facebook page created three days ago to complain about the floods, saying the city government and contractors were at fault for not building adequate infrastructure.




[With agencies]