Khaberni - The Deputy City Manager for Regional and Environmental Affairs in the Greater Amman Municipality, Mohammed Al-Faouri, stated that the amount of rainfall on Tuesday exceeded the infrastructure's capacity to absorb.
Al-Faouri explained in statements made through "Al-Mamlaka" on Tuesday evening, that the responsibility for draining rainwater falls within the powers and responsibilities of the Amman Municipality and not the water company, pointing out that the Municipality handles weather depressions by declaring a state of winter emergency, under which the readiness of field staff and related official institutions is enhanced.
He added that the Municipality had worked during the past period on developing the infrastructure in several areas, especially downtown and the Seventh District, describing them as "hotspots", where issues were addressed during last summer, contributing to improving the ability to drain rainwater and mitigate the effects of heavy precipitation.
The Chairman of the Greater Amman Municipality Committee, Yousef Shawarbeh, said on Tuesday that the Municipality deals with different emergency situations in every rainy season, noting that the recent rainfall has become intense and unusual.
Shawarbeh added, speaking to "Al-Mamlaka", that after each weather depression, all the cases faced by the Municipality are monitored, especially the rise in water levels at several locations, where specialized teams begin to study the water accumulation sites in order to develop permanent solutions to prevent their recurrence in the future.
He pointed out that the capital Amman recently witnessed a rise in water levels at more than one location, with the Amman Municipality operations room receiving about 33 reports that were dealt with immediately, noting that some of these situations are temporary, while others require permanent and radical solutions.
