JEDDAH: The Jeddah municipality said on Tuesday it has sprayed more than 1,300 floodwater sites feared to be breading grounds for the dengue mosquito. This follows complaints from residents in areas such as Quwaizah and Kilo 14 that experienced the worst of the devastating flashfloods that hit the city on Nov. 25. A fortnight later, many parts of the city are still under fetid water. There has been little attempt to clean it up. In many cases the rainwater is mixed with sewage.
The municipality said it dispatched teams to areas across Jeddah where dengue fever and other diseases could spread from the polluted waters.
“The initial plan was to focus on the districts that were worst flooded,” Assistant Deputy Mayor of Jeddah and head of Crisis Management Mahmoud Kansara said. “We conducted a comprehensive survey of all sites and included almost all the districts of Jeddah where a dengue fever epidemic might break out.”
The cleaning operation included the disinfection of about 153 buildings still under construction and some 49 residential buildings and structures; all were sprayed and treated.
Meanwhile, head of Jeddah Health Affairs Dr. Sami Badawood has told Arab News that his department has dealt with just two cases of dengue fever from areas affected by the flood — a number he considered low. “There is a joint effort between the health department and the municipality to make sure these districts are dengue-free. Our agents were also sent there to take samples from the water ponds and test it for any signs of growing mosquito larva,” he said. The Jeddah Health Affairs office was also working with the Saudi Red Crescent to tackle any health related concerns that might arise in the affected areas. Badawood urged residents to visit their doctor in case of an emergency. The municipality’s dengue fever division plans to continue spraying and treating waterlogged areas throughout Jeddah. These include parts of Baghdadiya, Kandara, Sulaimaniya, Bab Sharif, Aziziyah, Bani Malik and around the airport.
“The spraying of these areas is part of the prevention and control plans made by the municipality’s crisis and management division to quickly address any large body of water to avoid potential breeding of mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus,” Kansara said.
