In all, 22 government departments, including 680 Civil Defense privates, took part in the drill in eastern Jeddah districts, particularly those lying in valley paths.
The drill, called for by Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed, started with mock reports of heavy rain in the region.
Less than two hours later, sirens blew in schools after Wadi Quos and its tributary valleys started “flooding.” The schools, houses and government departments in the area were immediately evacuated.
Teachers helped Civil Defense personnel evacuate the schools in a smooth manner, avoiding potentially fatal stampedes.
Heads of the 22 government departments evaluated the drill, welcomed by residents following last year's tragic flooding in Jeddah.
Officials from the Civil Defense, police, traffic police, municipality, Red Crescent, ministries of health, education and water and electricity, the National Guard, the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) and other government departments successfully carried out duties assigned to them during the crisis.
They re-enacted a scenario where together they rescued victims, transported the injured to hospitals, evacuated schools and houses, cut electricity from buildings and organized traffic.
Hailing the success of the drill, Director of Girls’ Education in Jeddah Ahmed Al-Zahrani said schools lying in the paths of valleys were smoothly evacuated.
“In collaboration with other concerned departments, we have successfully carried out the evacuation, during which no one was hurt,” he said.
Director of the Civil Defense in Jeddah, Brig. Abdullah Jiddawi, described the drill as successful and said it was smoothly carried out. “We are now reassured about our emergency plans for any natural calamity like last year's floods,” he said.
Jiddawi said since last year, his department has been executing precautionary plans to prevent a recurrence of the crisis, in which more than 130 people died and thousands of cars and houses destroyed. “The drill was aimed at checking capabilities, rectifying mistakes and improving on positives,” he added.
The Civil Defense chief said the sewage lake, seen as a potential threat to residents of eastern and northern Jeddah, has completely dried up and paths for the valley waters have been opened.
Director of Civil Defense in Makkah province Maj. Gen. Adel Al-Zamzami also described the experiment as successful and said all concerned government departments and emergency services were quite ready for the rainy season.
He said new equipment had been procured and Civil Defense sections opened in many locations to deal with any emergency situation.
Meanwhile, a Russian observatory has predicted a cold snap in the Arabian Peninsula in the next three months and said heavy rains were expected in Makkah by the end of December.
Saudi astronomer Khaled Al-Zaaq agreed with the observatory’s forecast, but said rain would be at normal levels.
