Flash flooding in Jeddah

Background

In Saudi Arabia while mostly extremely dry, can have there is a major problem with flash flooding (Deng, McCabe, Stenchikov, Evans and Kucera, 2015). This can occur because of from unusual expected heavy rainfall in mountainous areas that might occur in highland areas located long distances from major urban centres (Al Saud, 2010). The water can will often flow in torrents through wadis to population centres located on the coast. The influx of large volumes of water in a small space of time may trap the unwary and results in significant loss of lifeves. In 2009, more than 116 people died in a flash flood that occurred in Jeddah and over three hundred people were seriously injured (Al Saud, 2010; Youssef, Sefry, Pradhan and Alfadall, 2015).

To date, Saudi authorities have failed to develop a holistic response to the threat of floods and the potential loss of life (Al Saud, 2010; Youssef, Sefry, Pradhan and Alfadall, 2015). It is important to understand the risks, mitigation strategies and response arrangements and to identify the factors that influence the risk and impact. It is also important to understand the role emergency health services in particular prehospital care services may play in preparation and response. Issues of preparedness of the community through education, preventative strategies to reduce the impact and warning systems are important. Paramedics must be trained in how to deliver a co-ordinated response in an environment where traditional road access may be significantly restricted.

that paramedics understand the nature of the response that is required in order to be able to treat the injured. Issues of preparedness of the community through education, preventative strategies to reduce the impact and warning systems are important. Paramedics must be trained in how to deliver a co-ordinated response in an environment where traditional road access may be significantly restricted. To date, Saudi authorities have failed to develop a holistic response to the threat of floods and the potential loss of life (Al Saud, 2010; Youssef, Sefry, Pradhan and Alfadall, 2015).

Aim

The aim of this project is to better inform community preparedness by identifidentifyingy the mitigation strategies that are put in place for the eventuality of flash flooding of the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and to evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation and preparedness strategies by comparisons with international against best practice.

Objectives

1.To detail the risks that Jeddah faces regarding flash flooding and the geographical and social factors that influence those risks.

2.To identify and evaluate the current mitigation strategies that are in place in Jeddah for the eventuality of flash flooding.

To identify best policies and practices for risk management for urban environments subject to flash flooding.

3.To identify the current mitigation strategies that are in place in Jeddah for the eventuality of flash flooding. To identify best policies and practices for risk management for urban environments subject to flash flooding.

4.To make recommendations on how the authorities in Jeddah might improve their mitigation strategies for the eventuality of flash flooding in Jeddah

Methodology

The project will conduct an overview of flooding in Jeddah and the nature of the response to the flash flooding in order to identify current practices and their strengths and weaknesses.

The study will involve a comprehensive literature review, context analysis and identification of best practices in the field of risk management of urban environments subject to flash flooding.

  1. The comprehensive literature review will involve a search of seven key databases: ProQuest, PubMed, Arab Quarterly, Springer Link, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct and Informit using key words such as flooding, flash flooding disaster planning and flood mitigation to identify the risks of flooding and the best practices in mitigation, preparedness and emergency response to flash flooding and the role that planning plays in improving risk reduction. A list of articles will be compiled. Ten key recent journal articles will be identified and a review conducted of the references contained in their reference list. Each article will be assessed on its relevance to the research. Those articles that are irrelevant will be rejected. The impact of the articles will then be assessed through an analysis of their subtext. Those articles deemed not have a significant impact on the research topic will be rejected.

The criteria that will be used to determine that an article is included is:

  • It must have been written in the last ten years;
  • It must be from a peer-reviewed journal;
  • It must be have as its subject one of the following:
  • Flash flooding in the Middle East
  • Flash flooding mitigation in the Middle East
  • Flash Flooding planning in the Middle East
  • Emergency response to flash flooding in Middle East
  • Preparedness to flash flooding in the Middle East
  • Global best practice in flash flooding mitigation, planning and emergency response.
  1. The context analysis will involve examination of the records of flash floods in Jeddah specifically and Saudi Arabia and the Middle East more generally. It will also involve examination of publically available government documents and websites. The impact of Jeddah’s location on the level of risk for flash-flooding will be assessed and the nature of policies and procedures that are in place to mitigate and respond to the risk of flash-flooding. This analysis will focus on detailed case studies of the flash flooding events that have affected Jeddah.

3.To identify the factors that influence mitigation and preparedness by conducting a survey of key stakeholders in Jeddah.

Evaluate policy options that may result from the application of best practices to situation in Jeddah

The role that mitigation plays in reducing the risk for flash flooding will be researched. Best practices in planning processes for the development and implementation of disaster prevention and response plan will be determined from secondary research in other global jurisdictions subject to flash-flooding. This research methodology will result in a report and recommendations for the Jeddah Local Municipal Council as well as the submission of the thesis.

Reference List

Al Saud, M. (2010). Assessment of flood hazard of Jeddah Area 2009, Saudi Arabia.Journal of Water Resources and Protection, 2, 839-847. doi: 10.4236/j.warp.2010.2909.

Deng, L., McCabe, M.F., Stenchikov, G., Evans, J.P., & Kucera, P.A. (2015). Simulation of Flash-Flooding-Producing Storm Events in Saudi Arabia Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model.Journal of Hydrometer, 16, 615-630. doi: 10.1175/JHM-D-140126.1.

Youssef, A.M., Sefry, S.A., Pradhan, B., & Alfadall, E.A. (2015). Analysis on causes of flash flood in Jeddah city (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) of 2009 and 2011 using multi-sensor remote sensing data and GIS. Geometrics, Natural Hazards and Risk. doi:10.1080/19475705.2015.1012750.