RIYADH: Light rains in Riyadh on Friday resulted in flooded streets. After the floods in Jeddah, it also resulted in nervous residents asking if the capital was any better equipped to cope with a massive downpour on the scale of that which hit Jeddah on Nov. 25.
The Civil Defense has warned the public to take caution as heavy rain is expected in the first part of the week. Responding to questions later on Friday about the state of Riyadh’s drainage system, the president of the capital’s municipal council, Tariq Al-Qasabi, revealed that the municipality was looking into the suggestion to create a reservoir near King Khaled Airport into which rainwater could be diverted. Al-Qasabi said that because of unauthorized construction in natural washes (wadis) around the city, it was impossible to deal with the drainage problems at the moment. Nonetheless, the municipality had formed emergency teams to deal with potential flooding in underpasses and elsewhere.
However, Al-Qasabi’s comment that the problem of blocked drains would be solved as soon as the weather improved and that extra drains were planned for the future was cause for bewilderment.
In 2007 and 2008, the rainy season resulted in flooding in many areas in Riyadh and underpasses filling with water. Riyadh residents are worried that it could happen again. But this year the start of rainy season coincides with the reopening of schools after the Haj and Eid vacation. Maha, mother of an eight-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, spoke of her worries given what happened last year. Both her children were stranded at school when the streets around it flooded.
“We keep facing flooded streets whenever Riyadh experiences some rain — and for a few hours only. There must be a solution to avoid this happening again,” she complained.
With the street flooding and the official statement from Al-Qasabi showing that Riyadh drainage is not better than Jeddah’s, residents were left asking how the capital would cope if there were a disaster on the scale of Jeddah? Is the city ready for floods? Does it have to go through the same crisis that Jeddah has to discover that it has a drainage problem?
“Unfortunately nothing can be done in case of such a situation,” says businessman Abu Yousef.
