Khaberni - The Yemeni child "September"'s father did not know that he would lose his only son due to the dilapidated flood drainage network, which claimed the life of the young child when he went out to play in one of the streets of Taiz, Yemen.
With every rainy season, the drainage channels in Taiz turn into traps for passersby, as reported by the correspondent Yasser Hassan, in a report prepared for Al Jazeera channel, but the tragedy of the child September had a different impact since he was the only child of his grieving parents who lost him when he drowned in the flood.
The child went out to play with other children when the flood swept him away, and no one could rescue him due to the intensity of the water flow, ending up dead in one of the water drainage channels, as confirmed by his father.
As the rainy season arrives, the fragility of the infrastructure in Taiz is revealed, which has been ravaged by torrential floods covering vast areas during the past two months, resulting in 24 deaths and hundreds of injuries, in addition to losses exceeding 15 million dollars, while residents affirm that the danger recurs annually without a fundamental solution to stop this human and material bleeding.
The system of water and adjacent street drainage and walls began to collapse, as confirmed by Maheeb Hakimi, the deputy governor of Taiz, who affirmed that work is currently underway with several civil society organizations to establish an early warning system.
"September" Safety Initiative
Amid these challenges, the "September" safety initiative appeared, which tries to provide a different model by rehabilitating the drainage openings and installing new protective windows in Cairo Directorate, in addition to the efforts of the local authorities that have started rehabilitating flood channels.
The initiative targets covering several drainage openings and constructing some small bridges, as stated by one of the leaders of the September initiative, which is currently in the implementation phase.
As the rains fall, the dire need to sustainably maintain the dilapidated drainage network becomes evident, making it capable of discharging water and reducing the recurrence of disasters.
One of the Biggest Challenges
In March last year, Yemen experienced heavy rains and devastating floods that swept through many areas. Meanwhile, the United Nations stated that climate change represents one of the biggest challenges facing Yemen.
These changes exacerbate the crisis of food insecurity in a country ranked as one of the poorest Arab states. A recent statistic from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen indicated that last year's heavy rains and subsequent floods resulted in 82 deaths and more than 100 injuries.
These rains also destroyed dozens of homes and vital infrastructure facilities including bridges, roads, hospitals, and shelters for displaced people, and affected thousands of families across the country.
Yemen suffers from extreme weakness in infrastructure, making the impacts of floods increase the tragedy of the residents, who complain about the fragility of basic services due to the repercussions of a war ongoing between the forces loyal to the legitimate government and the Houthi group for more than 11 years.
