Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Saudi Arabia: City of Jeddah waste-high in water after flood
by Staff Writers
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (AFP) Dec 31, 2010
Flooding caused by heavy rains snarled traffic and left residents
wading through waist-high pools of water in the Saudi Arabian city
of Jeddah on Thursday, where 123 people were killed by a flood
last year.
Several major roads in the east and south of the Red Sea port city
were inundated. Traffic came to virtual halt after dozens of cars
broke down, according to an AFP correspondent.
Authorities said the flooding had caused no casualties, but many
residents found their homes surrounded by water, which in some
districts was knee-high and in others up to the waist.
Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest city after Riyadh, was hit by
a flood last November that killed 123 people and caused extensive
damage.
According to official figures, thousands of families lost their
homes in that flood, which destroyed about 11,000 buildings and as
many vehicles.
Last May, King Abdullah ordered legal action against officials and
contractors for their alleged failures, following an
investigation.
The probe focussed on factors that had amplified the flooding,
including inadequate drainage and uncontrolled construction in and
around the city.
The November floods were followed by an unprecedented Internet
campaign by residents who complained of corruption and bad urban
planning.
Nine dead in Egypt, Saudi flooding
Mecca, Saudi Arabia (AFP) Dec 30, 2010 - Flash flooding killed a
man and three children in the Mecca region of Saudi Arabia on
Thursday, as waste-high water snarled traffic in the nearby Red
Sea port of Jeddah, where 123 people died in flooding last year.
The governor of Mecca, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, reported the
deaths and added that another 200 people had been rescued from
flood waters, many by helicopter.
In Jeddah, several major roads in the east and south were
inundated and traffic came to virtual halt after dozens of cars
broke down, according to an AFP correspondent.
Authorities said the flooding had caused no casualties, but many
residents found their homes surrounded by water, which in some
districts was knee-high and in others up to the waist.
Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest city after Riyadh, was hit by
a flood last November that killed 123 people and caused extensive
damage.
According to official figures, thousands of families lost their
homes in that flood, which destroyed about 11,000 buildings and as
many vehicles.
Last May, King Abdullah ordered legal action against officials and
contractors for their alleged failures, following an
investigation.
The probe focussed on factors that had amplified the flooding,
including inadequate drainage and uncontrolled construction in and
around the city.
The November floods were followed by an unprecedented Internet
campaign by residents who complained of corruption and bad urban
planning.