Khaberni - Local Administration Minister Walid Al-Masri inspected on Thursday the Greater Tafila municipalities, Buseira, Qadisiyah, and Hasa, and reviewed the reality of the effects left by the last weather depression that impacted several areas in the Kingdom.
Al-Masri met with the heads of municipal committees alongside relevant staff to discuss challenges, reflecting the ministry's commitment to enhancing readiness and improving the response efficiency to unstable weather conditions.
During the meeting attended by Tafila Governor Dr. Sultan Al-Madi, Al-Masri emphasized the importance of concerted efforts between the ministry and municipalities for a swift and effective response to the citizens' needs following the depression, stressing the necessity to address hotspots that appeared during the last wave of rain and floods and to work on enhancing the readiness of machinery and technical teams for immediate intervention when needed, especially in the coming days which are expected to experience heavy rainfall as part of prevention measures.
Al-Masri pointed out that the large quantities of rainfall that hit several provinces exceeded the traditional infrastructure's capacity to absorb, necessitating the adoption of temporary and urgent solutions to handle the consequences, in parallel with preparing and implementing sustainable and permanent scientific engineering solutions.
He stressed the dangers of building in the paths of torrents and valleys, calling for intensified community awareness efforts and enhancing cooperation with citizens to prevent such violations from recurring, and working to find appropriate and safe solutions for buildings currently situated in these locations, and taking all necessary treatments, whether temporary or permanent.
Al-Masri highlighted that the government has allocated 10 million dinar for emergency purposes and response to the consequences of rainfall, while the Ministry of Local Administration has allocated additional funds to support municipalities needing to rehabilitate affected sites and hotspots.
He stressed the presence of municipal committee heads and staff in the field to inspect stream channels and culverts and ensure their readiness, affirming that the ministry will not allow any situation that poses a danger to the lives of citizens or threatens their properties, and the necessity for citizens to take caution and stay away from stream paths.
Al-Masri called on the heads of municipal committees and concerned staff to take responsibility and act on issues before they arise, mentioning that the ministry formed a specialized technical team to survey the coordinates of valleys and the paths of floods in the Kingdom, and monitor all the licensed and unlicensed buildings erected within its range.
On his part, Al-Madi confirmed that local administration in the province has handled previous weather depressions according to an emergency plan and in cooperation between various official entities, noting that damages from the heavy rains witnessed in Tafila over the past weeks were recorded and raised to the relevant authorities, while official agencies continue to take necessary preventive preparations to handle the consequences of weather depressions.
During the meeting, Al-Masri listened to observations from the heads of municipal committees, the head of the Joint Services Council, the director of Tafila Works, and the Director of Municipal Affairs, concerning measures taken during the rainfall and efforts made to contain the damages, in addition to discussing mechanisms for developing sustainable solutions capable of handling the effects of climate change and the repetition of heavy rainfall over short periods.
