Ibrahim Alawi
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The anticipated heavy downpour in Jeddah never happened scuppering all Civil Defense preparations to deal with any emergency situation.
The Civil Defense and the residents heaved a sigh of relief that the threatening clouds did not burst open as much as predicted and the rain was light to medium in some parts of the city, especially the north where water logs were created.
Acting Director of Civil Defense, Mohammed Saleh Al-Ghamdi, said they increased their readiness to face any rain emergencies through 11 field teams, 54 centers and nine support facilities consisting of various concerned departments to carry out plans and arrangements if the rain had increased or the valleys flooded.
He said rubber rescue boats were deployed in various parts of the city anticipating the rain especially after receiving advanced warning from the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME).
Ghamdi said the valleys were also continuously monitored to check for floods and deal with them immediately.
“The Civil Defense did not receive any call for help,” he said.
Abdullah Al-Zamaie, director of Jeddah Islamic Seaport, said the naval activities at the seaport were not affected and all operations went on uninterrupted.
“There was no need to close down the seaport or halt the movement of the ships,” he said adding that 12 ships entered the seaport Monday morning.
Abdullah Al-Kharif, spokesman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), said business went on as usual at King Abdulaziz International Airport and there were no delays in the arrival or departure operations. “There was no need for the rescheduling of flights,” he said.
Col. Naji Aljohani, head of the center for coordination of rescue in the Red Sea, said the fishing boats continued to sail as usual.
“The climate in Jeddah did not necessitate stopping the boats and there were no fears of heavy winds,” he said.
Jeddawis took advantage of the nice weather which followed the rains and went picnicking along the corniche.
