Prince Turki Bin Nasser of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has said that the authorities were warned of potential flooding long before east Jeddah was struck by the torrential rains which claimed the lives of over 100 people last week. “The picture was clear enough to everyone three months before the disaster,” said Prince Turki, who is President of the PME. Prince Turki said that the current situation at Misk Lake poses an environmental threat to the entire city, warning against regular wastewater discharges from the lake into the sea. “But in a time of crisis like this, immediate discharge into the sea might be the only option as to keep the wastewater level low to prevent it from overflowing or flooding the city,” he said. “But the sewage lake will be destroyed and that is not negotiable,” he said. Prince Turki, however, called for immediate wastewater treatment to contain the sewage overflow from the city and to use treated water amid acute shortage of water in the region. This will help with providing more useable water and protect the Red Sea from pollution, he said, vowing a package of environmental projects for Jeddah to keep it clean and green. The Prince added that he would be gladly summoned by the flood investigation committee formed at the behest of King Abdullah to look into the disaster. The committee itself, meanwhile, took a three-hour helicopter tour over stricken districts of east Jeddah on Monday morning following a two-hour meeting at the Makkah Emirate headquarters in Jeddah. The tour, which involved two low-flying helicopters, took in the areas of Quwaizah, Harazat, Sawaed, Jamia, Rawabi, Sulaiymaniya, Kandara, and Misk Lake, and upon completion members resumed their meeting while declining to make any observations public. Land thieves At least 35 people accused of trying to illegally claim ownership of government land, east of Jeddah where the flood struck, are expected to be summoned by the committee, sources said. The names of the 35 people, described in legal circles as “land thieves,” were submitted to the Makkah Emirate last year. The “thieves” were trying to register land in riverbeds in their names to be later sold to the public. Misk barrier progress The Mayor's Office in Jeddah has, meanwhile, moved to allay fears over the danger of the Misk Lake sewage reservoir, saying that the third defense barrier, the construction of which began last Thursday, would be finished within a few days. “The Bin Laden Group has finished 70 percent of the sand barrier to protect eastern districts from any potential flooding of the lake, and it will be finished by the end of this week,” said Ibrahim Kutubkhana, Jeddah Deputy Mayor for Construction and Projects. “The new sand barrier will be 160 meters long, 25 meters wide, and three meters high, connected to two southern and northern drainage canals,” Kutubkhana said. Experts from King Abdulaziz University checked the safety of the main defense barrier of the lake and reported no dangerous cracks, Kutubkhana added. “The main defense barrier is being closely monitored, and 40,000 cubic meters of water is being pumped out of the lake each day to reduce the water level,” he said. DNA profiling Jeddah Police, meanwhile, commenced on Monday the identification of flood victims by DNA testing. “The bodies are difficult to identify otherwise, with no salient features, only remains,” said Saleh Al-Ghamdi of Jeddah Police Forensic Department. Bodies which have not suffered extensive damage have been fingerprinted and photographed for identification purposes, Al-Ghamdi said. – Okaz/SG – Additional reporting by Abdulaziz Ghazzawi, Muhammad Hadhadh and Adnan Shabrawi __
