| 07 Dec 2009 |
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Shoura wants flood plans prepared
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JEDDAH: The Shoura Council on Sunday urged all government departments to draw up strategic plans for dealing with floods and other natural disasters in order to avoid a repeat of the Nov. 25 flashfloods that devastated some districts of Jeddah.
"We should set out precautionary measures in order to prevent, with the help of God, a repeat of such catastrophes," the 150-member consultative council said following its first weekly meeting since the Jeddah floods and the Eid Al-Adha holidays.
The Shoura commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for setting up a high-level committee to investigate the reasons for the calamity and also for the king's ordering the payment of SR1 million to relatives of each person who died in the Jeddah floods.
King Abdullah warned that those responsible for the tragedy would be held accountable. "We cannot ignore the fact that there were mistakes and failures on the part of some departments and it is our duty to identify those responsible and take action against them," the king said in a statement after the floods.
The Shoura said it would provide all support for the investigating committee. "We'll also follow up Jeddah floods' repercussions within the framework of our monitoring authorities," it added.
Brig. Muhammad Al-Qarni, director of the media center at Jeddah Civil Defense, put the latest flood death toll at 116, adding that the number of people missing had fallen to 47.
The department's search and rescue teams on Sunday found three bodies -- a seven-year-old boy, a Sudanese man and a Yemeni woman. "Bodies of 89 victims have been handed over to their relatives," he said, adding that efforts were continuing to identify the remaining bodies. Two bodies of flood victims in Bahra have been found.
The department has received 96,452 calls since the flooding, Al-Qarni said, adding that 12,465 of them were related to accidents, 133 on people being trapped in floodwaters and 89 related to fires.
"We have given shelter to 6,575 families with a total of 22,291 members and foodstuffs worth SR18 million have been distributed among them," Al-Qarni said. The floods destroyed 7,143 cars and damaged 8,092 houses and other buildings.
"The Traffic Department will prepare a complete report on the damaged cars and contact their owners with the help of the computer database," Al-Qarni said.
The Finance Ministry has rented 160 buildings, including furnished apartments, in order to accommodate affected families.
Former Jeddah Mayor Abdullah Al-Muallami has expressed his hope that the government would take quick measures to correct Jeddah's flood drainage situation. He said while he was mayor, the municipality had given importance to building a rainwater drainage network. -- With input from Muhammad Humaidan
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2009
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