Jeddah'S Environmental Disaster And King Abdullah'S Solutions

Background: The weather in Saudi Arabia is dessert-like, and it is almost hot around the year especially in July. The average temperature in summer is about 45° C and annual rainfall is very low. In this paper, I will discuss an environmental disaster that happened back in 2009 and 2011 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The tragedy started on November 25 when a surprising rainstorm arrived in Jeddah and started to rain for four hours. As a result, 70 millimeters (2. 76 inches) of rain fell the roads in Jeddah causing a flood. 122 fatalities were reported and more than 350 were missing.

Two years later in January 2011, the same incident happened again but this time people were alarmed by the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME). Even though the PME informed people of the upcoming rainstorm, due to the weak drainage and sewage system, the flood killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds of others. However, the response in 2011 was much faster than in 2009. The Saudi Army, National Guard, and civilians were able to save 1,451 people by the scattered ground teams and 467 people through helicopters. Musk Lake: the Musk lake is an ironic name for the sewage lake. Jeddah doesn’t have a proper sewage system in most of its neighborhoods. Usually once a week, a sewage suction car visits such neighborhoods to drain sewage water as shown in the figures below. After sewage water has been drained, the cars will transfer and dump it in the Musk Lake. This had happened for 10 years prior to the incident. No one thought of the long-term effect of this action. However, after the 2009 and 2011 floods, residents living near the musk lake felt threatened by the danger of the water spilling over parts of Jeddah, especially after noticing a dramatic increase in the water level of the lake dam which could lead to a massive disaster.

Who’s to blame: Most places that got affected from the flood were the urban places near the Musk Lake and the flood stream in Jeddah. In 2009, The first response from Jeddah’s governor Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al-Saud was to blame the people for living in that prohibited area without a permit. King Abdullah Al-Saud gathered with other officials to find solutions to this disaster. One of his commands was that those responsible for the violation of law should be held accountable. Also, he established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and assigned Mohammed Al-shareef as the president of this commission. Unfortunately, no punitive measures were taken against those behind the incident. Following the repeated disaster in 2011, many people protested the poor infrastructure in Jeddah and class discrimination. For example, a rescue helicopter reportedly evacuated a student from the royal family and left the rest of the students to face their unknown fate at Dar al-Hikma College in Jeddah. On January 27 in 2011, 100 people rallied on Tahlia Street in Jeddah demanding improvements in infrastructure and stopping preferential treatment. However, 30 were arrested by the government. King Abdullah, ordered to compensate those who were affected by moving them to other houses and reimbursing them. In January 2015, King Salman Al-Saud (brother of King Abdullah) was nominated as the new King. He assigned his son as the Crown Prince and the president of National Anti-Corruption Commission. Prince Mohammed bin Salman took his role seriously; his task was to identify "offences, crimes, persons and entities involved in cases of public corruption". His words were “no one who has been involved in public corruption will survive even if he was a minister or prince. ” After many stern investigations, the result was 208 highly-ranked royals, former ministers and businessmen were held responsible in what was presented to the public as a corruption purge.

For example, the project of building the sewage and drainage system has never materialized. Along with allegations of bribery, the accusations against these senior figures included money laundering and taking advantage of their positions for personal gain. All have been released from being held in the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh after paying settlements amounting to $107 billion. Conclusion: In conclusion, the biggest environmental disaster that happened in Jeddah was the flooding incident in 2009 and 2011. After thousands killed in both events and the vast damage in roads, buildings, and cars, King Abdullah remembers those who were affected and established The National Anti-Corruption Commission. Nothing serious happened in his time. However, when Mohammed bin Salman was appointed as the president of The National Anti-Corruption Commission, he acted strictly by charging people who were responsible for crippling the fundamental projects in Jeddah, such as building the Infrastructure drainage system.