eight persons, 19 of them officials and staff from the Jeddah mayoralty, are expected to undergo investigation in accordance with last Monday's Royal Decree concerning the 2009 flood disaster, Al-Madina Arabic daily reported Thursday. Al-Madina cited sources saying that in addition to the 19 officials and staff, 44 others connected to the events would be investigated after having been unable to appear previously “for a variety of reasons”, along with five other officials, two from the National Water Company and three from Makkah's General Water Administration. The sources also told the newspaper that the case file would look at three aspects, the first related to public money and recorded admissions of misuse, the second to indirect links with the event such as commercial fraud and cover-ups, and the third related to persons found to have committed violations unrelated to the floods but whose actions were discovered during the course of flood investigations. Among those said to be involved by the sources are three assistants and one deputy to the mayor, a project manager, three municipal heads, and the head of a violations department. Officials from the National Water Company and the General Water Administration who are under investigation include several who transferred posts between the two authorities. The Royal Decree, issued last Monday, ordered the completion of investigations into all names in a report submitted by the investigation committee, and that those not directly connected to the disaster have separate cases drawn up against them and be referred to the relevant investigative authorities. The Decree also contained a series of wide-ranging instructions to government and non-government bodies to prevent and protect from future disasters. The Nov. 2009 floods in Jeddah led to the deaths of 123 people and damage to 10,785 buildings. Many of the losses and damages occurred in south Jeddah areas where homes had been built without license.
