More tough questioning of Jeddah city officials about the causes of the disastrous flooding. The Deputy Mayor, Ibrahim Kutubkhanah, says that officials were aware of the hazards in rogue developments in different parts of the city, primarily the east and south, and had been warning about them. They have also been doing assessments, drawing up plans, and requesting funds from the central government. He estimates that it will take SR 7 billion (US $ 1.87 billion) to complete drainage plans for the city.
Deputy Mayor blames flood disaster on lack of sufficient funds
Faleh Al-DhubyaniJEDDAH – Residents are venting their anger at city officials as the death toll from last week’s flood rises to 107, with 1,400 people having to be rescued.
“They didn’t make the drainage work. They have told us for three years or more that it was completed,” said human rights lawyer Walid Abu Al-Kheir.A city official has responded by saying that they are waiting for funds to complete the drainage network. Only 30 percent of the city is protected with proper drainage.
Eng. Ibrahim Kutubkhanah, deputy mayor of Jeddah, said that the network in the flood-damaged areas, east of the city, would need at least SR1.2 billion worth of projects to fix.Following our grilling of the mayor yesterday, we now ask for further answers from Kutubkhanah, in this exclusive interview.
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November:30:2009 - 09:29
Well if it is true that the Musk lake damn is about to fall there problems have only just begun. Perhaps something this incredibly bad has to happen before they fix things properly. They have known for years that the sewage and drainage needed attending to. I’m really finding myself speachless- and yet how can any of us really be suprised?
November:30:2009 - 09:45
I recall reading that the authorities had built a second retaining wall, a couple of hundred meters high, to stand as back-up if the main wall of Misk Lake failed. I agree that a major failure here would really put a fire under authorities, but I’d think 100+ deaths would have done that anyway.
November:30:2009 - 10:03
I’ve heard that civil defense is in evacuating people right now. First phase everything east of ring road, second phase everything east of Sitteen. I am trying to find some official word on this. Sun just set now- rumour has it they expected it to break around now. I wish there was a reliable way of getting info here.
November:30:2009 - 10:33
Yikes!
November:30:2009 - 10:45
I really hope it’s all greatly exagerated. Local news isn’t saying anything we can find. They are talking about a successful Hajj and all the leaders greeting each other. Not even the flood is getting coverage. Other Arab coverage is talking about the Dubai financial situation. I get my info from word of mouth and FB. Luckily I don’t live in that area, so nothing first hand.
Saudi Gazette website mentioned that it began cracking one month ago. Otherwise there was a lot of talk August 2008 about all the fixing and reinforcing they were going to do- I don’t see much follow up on if any of that was actually done.
November:30:2009 - 11:49
Surprisingly little is being reported on this aspect and the news on all of it seems slow. I found this article informative:
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=18983
I also did a post on Tara’s blog on the flooding with links to John’s posts and quite a few pictures, including some sent by a Jeddan friend of KAU:
http://taraummomar.blogspot.com/2009/11/hajj-and-eid-al-adha-2009the-unforeseen.html
It seems as if this unforeseen act of nature (and human complications) has proven a far greater challenge than the dreaded swine flu.
November:30:2009 - 12:26
I’ve been doing some investigation on the musk lake thing (I’m a Jeddah resident after all, and only 10 km away from it). So far I can’t find any official news on any looming danger. Yes, people are evacuating, but so far it seems that they are personal initiatives lead by the mounting rumors. Supposedly there’s going to be some kind of official report on the lake’s status on Saudi TV at 9:00pm. We shall see.
November:30:2009 - 13:01
I have personal first hand experience when it comes to Musk Lake. The dam is not as sturdy as one would expect and cannot hold any more strain. At current levels it is at it’s limit. Should rain it again, it will burst.
I have been part of a team of specialists who have been trying to convince the Jeddah Municipality for over a year and half about a solution to the problem, using very modern technology that would actually convert the sewage water into clean energy and clean water.
They sent their team to visit locations where this technology is being used and all the reports were positive. However, the mayor was skeptical for some reason.
The amount of water at the lake stands at a little over 15m cubic meters with a daily intake of about 80k cubic meters. That would have produced at least 1500MW of desperately needed power for Jeddah and much needed water to be used for other projects (non-drinking).
All this, without the government paying a single penny.
If this dam does break, I hold the Mayor accountable and anyone higher up that knew about the project and did not push for it to see the light.
This is a tragedy, but one that could have been easily avoided.
November:30:2009 - 13:03
http://jeddah.gov.sa/news/news.php?id=1598
Official word from the municipality. Pr. Khalid has visited the lake and confirms that there’s nothing worrying about the lake’s water level or the integrity of the dam. The only district in any level of danger is “Al Samir 3″ (east of the ring road) and only *if* Jeddah experiences further heavy rainfall and the dam structure gets damaged.
November:30:2009 - 13:09
Thanks for the update!
November:30:2009 - 13:10
It strikes me that all mitigation measures should be put into place, ASAP.
November:30:2009 - 13:58
M and Talal–thanks for your information.
John–I agree! Praying for it not to rain, is about as effective as praying for rain to come.
November:30:2009 - 14:56
Well, it’s a bit of a surer thing in the KSA!
November:30:2009 - 15:34
True, point well taken! LOL
However, Murphy’s Law, or Mustapha’s Law if one prefers, would dictate that now, when it is most important that it not rain, it will! LOL 
November:30:2009 - 21:43
Talal maybe someone will listen to you now!
My favorite question was “Where did the money go?”
The question was not answered!
Perhaps it was used for something else not necessarily used to build their palaces abroad! Who knows, but he needs to answer the damn question! Not answering the question makes them appear to be hiding something. So much is hidden. That is why I find it particularly nauseating when I get the “Be a good Muslim speech and obey those in authority”. F-that!
Where the F-did the money go is the question more people need to be asking? It might have an acceptable explanation, but it still needs an explanation. Shame on them. I have often wondered how some people can put their heads on their pillows to rest at night.
And comparing Katrina is not the same in this case. We knew and still know that the appropriate funds were never given to prevent such a catastrophe based on predictions and gambles. In the US, there is always a money trail. It might be spent on things we deem silly and useless but in the end we STILL know where the money went. In this case there was money alloted for a project that fell short of its deliverables and the solution asking for more money. How convenient? I got a great idea why don’t the corrupted start liquidating their properties. I would say how much is one life worth?
December:01:2009 - 05:56
We know where the money went we just can’t talk about it. Buenos dias.
December:01:2009 - 08:20
Apparently the evacuation for the sewage lake problem in Jeddah was only an “advisory”. Personally, I’d take an “advisory” and get the hell out of Dodge City. You gotta feel for the women that can’t drive themselves to safety. They are at the mercy of men (who’ve made wrong decisions up to this point). There are also predictions of more possible rain.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009120155832
December:01:2009 - 08:45
Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. – Invisible Man
Is that Spain?
I think the reporter should have posed his money question as follows: “Do you know we all know where the money went?” HAH
King Abdullah to the rescue again…