JEDDAH – Angry residents are demanding to know why their city’s civil servants were not prepared for last week’s floods which caused massive damage and numerous deaths. We try to find some answers from Jeddah’s Mayor Adel Faqih.
Q: Mayor Faqih, your city has turned into a disaster zone following Wednesday’s rains. Why?
A: Let me say that it was a 3.7-inch rainfall, which was a very big flow into the 1-inch drainage pipes. That is four times more than the capacity of our current drainage pipes.
Q: But the problem, if we look at the damage, is more than just heavy rains. Is there any explanation for this?
A: The problem was in the flash floods coming from the valleys. Many [people] have developed land and made illegal incursions onto the drainage [system] meant for the floodwater. This had changed the direction of floodwater, causing the water to flow into the city.
Q: The situation is terrible in flood-hit districts, the Haramain Highway, and the road to Misk Lake where the sewage tankers dump their cargo. How are you going to deal with this?
A: The Jeddah Mayoralty has completed an emergency plan with a package of temporary solutions…
Q: Excuse me. Did you say temporary while the city is drowning?
A: We are now studying all areas where flood waters and rainwater [have been prevented] from immediately going right into the sea through the drainage network. That has caused floodwater to find its way through the city in different locations east of the Haramain Highway. It has been clarified by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Emir of Makkah, in addition to the field followups by Prince Misha’l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah.
Q: The water level in the districts east of the Haramain Highway are at high levels and nothing has been done to at least pump out the water. What are you going to do?
A: Most of the areas where the water has gathered are unplanned areas and most of the buildings there violate basic construction engineering. This is something that has led to disorganized services to these areas, let alone the unplanned road network inside these areas. There are narrow dirt roads that will not even allow the passage of two cars at the same time. Don’t even mention the poor infrastructure that would not allow development projects within these areas.
Q: Well, where have you been all these years? Have you not ever thought about such a disaster?
A: For this, we have the vision of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, with a development project to correct the situation of unplanned districts in Jeddah. Over 50 unplanned districts of 54,000 hectares, home to 984,000 people, have been studied for development.
Q: Misk Lake, where sewage is dumped, has caused headaches for the entire city. There have been serious warnings about the possibility of the lake breaking its sand barriers and flooding the city. Why are you quiet about this?
A: It is not going to happen. After the floods, an emergency committee checked the lake and its sand barriers. The committee has been formed by the Governor of Jeddah, Prince Misha’al Bin Majed to deal with potential dangers associated with rainfall in the lake. In the wake of the recent heavy rains, the committee, along with the security departments, has stopped sewage tankers from dumping their cargo into the lake. Instead, they have been directed to use dumps sites at Khumrah and Ruwais as a precautionary measure. In fact, dumping into Misk Lake was stopped when weather reports indicated more rains. All authorities concerned have been informed to take part in the protection plan against the floods.
Q: It is believed that the sand barrier of the lake may break at any minute. Wouldn’t this require immediate and serious action to prevent it from happening?
A: [We have] this solution [and it’s a] 1.7 km sand barrier that is closely monitored by the mayoralty for emergency cases. The mayoralty has tried to keep to a minimum, the dumping of sewage into the lake. Another 230-meter high precautionary barrier was built 12 km away from the city to block the water from the lake in case the barrier breaks. The precautionary barrier can take up to 15 million cubic meters of water. Lines of highly water-absorbing trees have also been planted. Many canals have been created to take overflowing water from Misk Lake if the water level rises.
Q: The new underpass on King Abdullah Road, which is vital to Jeddah’s traffic, has been flooded. Whatever happened to its drainage network?
A: We were surprised by the floods coming from Madina Road, Sharafiah, and nearby areas. The underpass is equipped with two pumps of 2,500 cubic meters.
Q: Surprised? This is a new project that cost about SR300 million. What surprise are you talking about?
A: Yes, we were surprised by the quantity of water that topped 7,500 cubic meters in an hour. Within 10 hours the quantity of water in the underpass reached 70,000 cubic meters.
Q: This type of surprise is meant to be your business. When is the water going to be pumped out so that the underpass can be reopened?
A: It will be open to traffic within 48 hours. [As this interview goes to press, it should be 24 hours, according to the Mayor’s timeframe].
Q: Every time it rains in Jeddah, you talk about your plan to deal with the rainwater, but we have not seen anything in reality.
A: Within the last couple of days, the mayoralty has started pumping water from major streets like King Abdul Aziz Road and Madina Road. This includes eight areas that have pumping priority, especially where there have been power outages.
Q: Does this mean you only deal with such disasters after the fact?
A: The mayoralty deals with the rain when it falls by [applying the] necessary solutions, improving [the] work quality and distributing responsibility among the different departments of the mayoralty. This means immediate pumping out of the water through the drainage network or with the use of water tankers.
Q: But this does not mean anything if we look at the reality of the situation now?
A: Let me finish. The drainage plan of the rainwater is a shared responsibility among the departments of the mayoralty in coordination with other government departments like the police, Civil Defense, Ministry of Water and Electricity, and Ministry of Transport.
Q: The government has pumped billions of riyals into the infrastructure of this city, but it is still shaky. Where did the money go? Where are the projects?
A: In the past decades, the city did not have [proper] infrastructure for drainage, electricity, and telecommunication. There was a huge lack of an integrated infrastructure in the city that did not take into account future expansion. This has turned Jeddah into a site of ongoing street work to provide public services.
Q: You have been trying to throw the responsibility on previous mayors haven’t you?
A: Jeddah is such a big city that it always needs more money for its municipal projects. We have mentioned many times that the city would need SR7 billion to cope with its expansion and increasing population. But now the city needs an extra SR3 billion to have a well-developed drainage network. At least 70 percent of the city lacks a proper drainage system. The affected areas have already been scheduled for drainage projects. - Oka