Sheikh, Chairman of the Municipal Council in Makkah, disagreed with Dr. Osama Al-Bar, Mayor of Makkah, who recently stated that Makkah is safe from floods. Aal Al-Sheikh stressed that Makkah is not safe from flood hazards. He said that he received telephone calls during the past two days from several citizens confirming that there are many residential districts located in dry riverbeds that require the urgent attention of the mayoralty. Aal Al-Sheikh said among these areas is Wadi Al-Hussainiyah which is very narrow because of the buildings constructed in it. Al-Hussainiyah is one of the main routes by which water flows from the mountains and Wadi No'man. He said the Municipal Council has written to Makkah Mayoralty asking them to identify all the government or commercially planned districts that have not been approved so that the council can determine whether or not hazards exist. Aal Al-Sheikh said the Municipal Council in Makkah has held only three meetings to discuss flood hazards and storm-water drainage during the past years. He said Makkah has witnessed the setting up of storm-water drainage projects worth SR400 million. He said flood related problems occur because of a failure to recognize and deal with the problem in the first place in addition to the fact that some mayoralties do not prevent people from constructing homes in riverbeds. Apart from this, blame must be placed on the delay in providing financial allocations for approved drainage projects. Aal Al-Sheikh proposed setting up a unified department or authority to be in charge of the construction of major projects, as this would lead to reducing the costs and expedite the completion of projects.
