Following heavy rains in Jeddah on Friday night, the southbound carriageway of Madinah Road near the Indian Consulate was blocked due to a large tree that had fallen over.

As a result, traffic jams stretched along Madinah Road reaching as far as Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz (Tahlia) Street. Members of the public have, as a result, called on the municipality to take robust action as people are often left to clear the trees themselves.

Trees also collapsed on Rawdah Street closing off lanes, said locals. Residents in the Rawdah district also complained that their cars had been trapped by fallen trees and that they had to arrange manpower themselves to move the trees.

Residents in the city’s Aziziya district also complained of a fallen tree blocking a road. “It was knocked down by strong winds and fell onto a parked vehicle, damaging it,” said Ali Khan, a local resident.

People in Jeddah value the few trees that are in the city, particularly during the summer when they provide shade to people and cars. However, many people fail to take care of their trees and do not trim them when they grow big.

Fadi Suleiman, a resident of the city’s Rawdah district, said trees are not maintained and are only taken care of when they fall. “When it rained last week, three trees on Hamad Al-Jasser Street, which connects Kayyal Street with Sari Street, fell down and blocked the road. The sidewalk was totally destroyed because the trees had uprooted flagstones. No one seems to care about these trees. They allow them to grow tall and then wait for them to fall on cars and damage property,” he added.

“There is a large number of trees planted on pavements across Jeddah and some of these were planted 15-20 years ago. They have outgrown their surrounding environment,” said Bahgat Hamoh, head of parks and city beautification at the Jeddah municipality.

He added that his department keeps an eye on trees on main roads and along sidewalks, and keeps them trimmed. “Some of the large trees in front of private properties in neighborhoods are normally imported to the city by homeowners and our department works with these people when they need help,” he added.

— With input from Sultan Al-Tamimi