No problems caused by showers: Makkah mayor

MAKKAH: Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Barr said on Friday that the heavy showers on Thursday did not cause any accidents or significant flooding.

"All rainwater collected at various places in the holy sites has been pumped out and currently no stagnant water is found anywhere," Al-Barr said.

The municipality has recently completed or started 30 projects to protect Makkah districts from floods. There are also new projects to construct levees to protect districts from floods at the cost of SR790,000. While the region received relatively little rainfall, when rain comes it tends to collect and build rapidly, causing devastating flash floods like the ones experienced on Nov. 25 last year in Jeddah and Makkah.

Another project worth SR1.3 million aims to pump rain and flood water in two tunnels in Al-Muabada.

"All projects are maintained properly round the year so that rains do not form floodwaters harming the people even if the downpours are unexpected," the mayor said.

There are approximately 256 km of drainage canals in Makkah and the holy sites, he pointed out.
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS |Nov 20, 2010