JEDDAH: King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is one of the institutions worst affected by the floods of Nov. 25. According to KAU officials, it sustained losses of SR1.6 billion as a result of the disaster.
“The losses suffered by the university were huge as the floods destroyed its infrastructure facilities and a large amount of equipment,” said Dr. Osama Tayeb, the president.
“The flow of the torrential floods was too great to be managed by our drainage system,” Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted the president as saying, adding that the floods had damaged KAU’s compound wall. The floods also destroyed a great deal of equipment in the university’s nanotechnology labs and in its hospital. Infrastructure at the 10 colleges in the campus was seriously damaged.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Yubi, undersecretary for educational affairs, said KAU officials had presented a report to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on the extent of flood damage at the university. “We have also presented to the committee in charge of assessing damages the estimated amount required by the university to rebuild the damaged facilities,” he said, adding that the amount was SR1.6 billion. The floods destroyed the university’s air conditioning system and power generating facilities.
It also damaged 38 buildings that accommodated university staff and four student hostels. About 7,000 square meters of the campus was inundated.
Al-Yubi said the university carried out some emergency repair work in order to prepare for the return of students after the Eid Al-Adha holidays. The work included the repair of both the telephone and electrical networks. The floods destroyed a great deal of equipment at King Fahd Medical Research Center, which had been conducting important research on cancer and the old age diseases. “We have lost much valuable research material and we cannot put a price tag on the loss,” he said.
He said the floods had destroyed about 100 university vehicles and that repairs to the air conditioning system would cost some SR60 million. He said that following the floods; the university had taken precautions in order to prevent pollution from its chemical warehouses and workshops.
Al-Yubi said Civil Defense officers had found 40 bodies on the campus. The floods also killed large numbers of animals used for research and damaged many roads inside the campus. “The flood caused great damage to the medical research center. It destroyed important research work, some of which dated back 30 years,” said Dr. Mansour Sulaiman, the center’s director. He estimated the damage at SR130 million.
Dr. Mahmoud Shaheen, principal of the Medical College and supervisor of the university hospital, said the floods had caused damages of SR250 million to the hospital.
