Authorities lack devices to monitor quakes – expert By Mohannad Sharawi Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Kingdom may witness frequent and intense flash floods in view of recent climatic change in the country, which has seen the weather getting warmer, warned a paper presented at the four-day 7th Gulf Seismic Forum which concluded here Wednesday. Faisal Al-Zawad, an expert in the field, said that he conducted a study on the adverse impact of weather conditions in the Kingdom using a model called PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies) which is developed at the Hadley Center at the UK Met Office. Yousef Sefry, of the Applied Geology section at the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), called for urgent solutions to avert the risk of Jeddah flash floods in Wadi Qows located in eastern Jeddah. He cited the 2009 Jeddah floods which caused the tragic loss of 113 lives and widespread damage to public and private property. He said that the SGS has proposed an urgent solution to ward off the risks of flooding in such areas and to avoid the recurrence of what happened in 2009. “Jeddah is located in an independent basin with an area of around 1,760 square km. This basin is divided into three major sub-basins: northern, middle and southern. Wadi Qows is located in the southern sub-basin and it passes through Al-Harazat, Al-Sawadi, Al-Mesaid and Al-Jamia which were badly affected by the 2009 floods,” Yousef Sefry said. His study deals with determining the best sites for the construction of dams. Meanwhile, Dr. Abdul Aziz Eshqi, Dean of the Marine Science College of King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, has confirmed that the Kingdom does not have devices for detecting and monitoring earthquakes. He said that the areas opposite the Red Sea are susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic activity. “I question whether there are devices for detecting earthquakes in the Kingdom. I often wonder when I hear statements from officials at the National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes about the measurement of tremors and earthquakes,” Dr. Eshqi was quoted as saying in the Arabic media. He said that the Red Sea coast stretching from Bab Al-Mendab to Sinaia is prone to earthquakes. The coastal cities up to 200 kms east of the Red Sea are most vulnerable to earthquakes, he said, pointing out that a new island has surfaced opposite the Yemeni coast due to volcanoes and earthquakes. Dr. Ali Al-Areshi, Dean of Scientific Research in Jizan University, has reiterated that the area is vulnerable to earthquakes. __
