JIZAN: Major floods, similar to those in Jeddah, could hit Al-Bagheth Planned District in Ahad Rufaidah Governorate, according to Dr. Muhammad Aal Dahim, a member of the Municipal Council in the governorate. This is because the district is in a valley. He said there is a similar threat to the districts of Al-Ma'lah and Irq Balhana which are located on plains subject to sweeping floods from Al-Makhash Valley and the Al-Qaisan Mountains. Also facing danger is the basin where water from Al-Makhash Valley collects extending up to the northeast of Al-Wadiyain center's villages, including Aal Jahl and Mount Dhamak located in King Faisal Military City. Aal Dahim expects the flood disaster to extend to neighboring districts crowded with hundreds of residential buildings, most of which are still under construction. Furthermore, a large number of culverts, for draining rain and flood water beneath roads, have been closed in the south. Flood routes have been changed and land use has changed from agricultural to commercial and residential without tight controls, he said. Aal Dahim added that the municipal council had earlier written to Ahad Rufaidah Municipality warning about the danger of floods, but no one seems to be taking the matter seriously. “This makes it incumbent on us to perform our duty, to intervene urgently, assign consultants to study the topography of the region and all the basins from which rain water runs to Al-Bagheth Planned District and Al-Ma'lah District, to calculate the quantity of flood water, suggest the appropriate solutions and divert the flood routes to Bisha Valley.” To do anything else would be a waste of time and effort and would not address the root cause of the problem, Aal Dahim stressed. Aal Dahim said Al-Bagheth Planned District was in danger because it was not built according to standards and criteria laid down by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
