RIYADH/JEDDAH: The Shoura Council has urged the government to review its crisis management system in line with those employed by advanced countries to deal quickly and properly with epidemics and natural and industrial disasters.
“The Shoura’s proposals regarding the Jeddah catastrophe included the review and study of all systems and plans to manage crises and emergencies,” said Muhammad Al-Quwaihes, chairman of the Shoura Committee for Water, Infrastructure and Public Services.
He said citizens across the country should be given proper training on what to do in times of crises and emergencies. “The Shoura also calls for a review of all regulations relating to town planning,” he said, adding that such plans should not change the topography of land.
The committee emphasized the need to review regulations and specifications for residential district planning, infrastructure and utility requirements in cities, towns and villages. It also called for the need to revise emergency plans for cities on the basis of the experience of other countries.
Al-Quwaihes said the Shoura asked the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in 2005 to lay rainwater drains across the Kingdom within a specific time frame. It had also called for a stop in constructing buildings in flood plains and implementing water and sewage projects without delay.
The committee met with senior government officials, including Abdullah Al-Muqbil, deputy minister of transport; Farid Sheera, assistant deputy minister for town planning at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs; and Hani Aburas, deputy mayor of Jeddah, to discuss the causes of the Jeddah floods and what could be done to prevent this in the future.
Meanwhile, the high-power committee investigating the Nov. 25 floods continued its grilling of officials and contractors. It also barred the public from accessing the offices of top Jeddah municipality officials on the 13th floor of the municipality building.
Informed sources told Arab News that people have not been allowed to visit officials, including the mayor’s assistants, because of orders from the investigating committee, adding that this has nothing to do with the municipality.
