A total of 50 vehicles fitted with sirens will be used to warn residents to evacuate if the Misk Lake breaks its banks and threatens to flood the city with raw sewage. This was the assurance given by Brig. Gen. Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al-Qarni, Director of the Information Center for Countering Emergencies at the Directorate of Civil Defense in Jeddah Governorate. He said plans are in place to deal with any mass evacuation of people. He said the vehicles with the sirens have been spread out over the area. Civil Defense members are currently monitoring the districts east of the highway, which are located behind the sewage lake. Al-Qarni said plans are in place to move people if the lake threatens to spill over. “The Civil Defense departments are monitoring the water levels closely. If there is any problem, including a rise in the water level of the lake, the plan will be carried out. The most important part is immediate evacuation.” Al-Qarni said people should not be so afraid because the sewage lake is over 15 km away from the nearest residential areas. If there is a collapse of the embankments or the precautionary dam, the matter can be dealt with speedily, he said. Al-Qarni said that three locations have been identified to shelter people if they are evacuated. These sites have been identified taking into account their distance from the city center, availability of space and easy accessibility. The first site is located east of Jeddah on an area of about 87,500 sq. meters and can be reached with the Al-Haramain Ring Road. The nearest landmark to the site is SASCO Company. It has a capacity to shelter nearly 21,875 people. The second site is located in northern Jeddah in Northern Obhur, southeast of the Lakes City (Madinat Al-Buhairat) Warehouse. It has an area of 35,250 sq. meters and the nearest main road to it is the Madina Expressway. It can accommodate about 8,813 people. The third site is in southern Jeddah. It has an area of 15,600 sq. meters and is located near the Corniche Road. The nearest landmark to it is the shooting ground project. It has a capacity for about 3,900 people. He said that these sites are located outside the governorate and could also be used in event of earthquakes and other disasters.
