Shameful! Jeddah Crippled by Rain Yet Again

It rarely rains in Jeddah, but when it does, it reeks havoc on this city of almost 4 million people.  Schools are canceled.  We lose internet service.  The streets flood.  Hundreds of homes and cars are damaged.  And people get electrocuted or drown - and some die.  The municipality has absolutely no drainage system.  There is no where for the rain water to go.  It's ridiculous that a city of this size is literally crippled and brought to its knees from a little rain.  Promises have been made for years that this issue has been addressed, yet every time it rains, it's the same old thing once again.

Saudi Arabia imports unskilled laborers from poor countries to do cheap and shoddy construction work and if the job is not closely supervised, as many are not, the quality suffers, of course.  It may look pretty good at first glance, but it's always a shock when that first rain comes.

The quality of construction work in this region would be shocking to most of you.  Can you believe that it is not standard procedure to seal all doors and windows?  So with all the dry dust and sandstorms, you can imagine how filthy homes get here if the sealing is not taken care of.  But when it rains, doors and windows leak and it's a mess, not to mention how it ruins the walls and finishes as well as creating mold problems.  People move into nice newly constructed apartments or villas, and then when the first rain comes, they are shocked at the damage and mess. 

To alleviate the horrendous traffic problems in this congested city, a series of tunnels and bridges have been built to replace major intersections and roundabouts.  But trying to solve the traffic problem this way has created an even worse problem when it rains, as the tunnels fill up with rain water.  Many people have died in the tunnels in the past few years.

My husband and I spent several hours yesterday bailing out at least 15 big buckets of water from our stairwell to the rooftop. It's a large area that has windows all around the top and is covered by one of those fiberglass outdoor tent style roofs.  None of it is sealed.  The leaking happens every time it rains here.  For some reason my husband won't have the roof replaced or sealed up.  Thankfully he did have the doors and windows to our flat sealed up after the first rain we experienced when we moved in. 

I lived in Florida for many years, where there are hurricanes and sometimes, even normally, it rains for days on end - and I cannot believe that something has not been done about this situation in Jeddah.  It's shameful for the citizens of Jeddah in this oil rich county to be made to suffer like this with such crappy infrastructure that can't handle a little rain.

I did not take most of these photos (many I found online at this website), but many of them were taken not far from where we live.  It rained for 1-2 hours yesterday morning - that's it.

 

Dust, Dust, and More Dust

For the past week or so, Jeddah has experienced high winds which in turn have created horrible dust storms. These dust storms do a lot more than make your mouth feel gritty and spew a layer of fine dust all over everything.

Here in Jeddah, it can mean schools and shops closing, increased traffic accidents, and trees being uprooted and turned into missiles. The roads of Jeddah are dangerous enough on a normal day, but add poor visibility into the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

The blowing dust has also wreaked havoc on my allergies – and I’m sure many others in Jeddah are suffering from this same problem.

Thunderstorms were also predicted which can cause severe flooding problems in some areas of the city. Luckily the rain that has fallen so far has not caused any serious problems.

For more information:

Jeddah Daily Photo Journal February 2009 post about Dust Storms

Jeddah Photo Blog's January 2012 post about Jeddah's Dust Storm, with many photos

Arab News article "Life disrupted as massive dust storm envelops Jeddah"

Protests in Jeddah After the Flood

With the eyes of the world watching the events unfolding in Egypt, citizens of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also staged a peaceful protest of their own today in reaction to this past week's severe flooding of the city caused by unusual torrential rains. It appears as though nothing much has been done since last year's horrible flooding, nor has anyone been held accountable for the bad city planning and corruption which is to blame.

UPDATE 29JAN2011 - Well it's no surprise that the original video has been completely removed from YouTube. On Feb. 6, I found another video which is now posted - we'll see how long this one stays up on YouTube.


For more insight on the desperate situation in Jeddah due to the flooding, please read this post on Haphazard by a fellow blogger.

Jeddah Flood Victims Need Help

Jeddah flood victims need your help NOW!!!

Several NGOs and YIG (Young Initiative Group) have been tirelessly helping flood victims since last Wednesday's devastating rains. YIG is asking for your help and donations. Please donate, water bottles, food, clothes, blankets, flashlights etc. Please bring your items to AL-Harithy Exhibition Center also known as Jeddah Center for Forums and Events which located on the corner of Hera Street and Madinah Rd. Driving directions are below.

Al Harithy Exhibition center is open for everyone! If you can volunteer or donate needed items, it is open from 9am-9pm starting today, Friday, January 28, 2010. They will continue to take donations at this location for several more days. It is imperative that you get your donations there as soon as possible.

Females are needed for buying, receiving, sorting and packing the donations received. They will be working inside the Exhibition Center. Males with 4X4 cars are needed on the field. Gentlemen are asked to be available in the parking lot and be there in the morning or as soon as possible to register. You will be assigned to a group to head to a specific area for delivery and distribution and to support the groups which they are assigned to.

Females are more than welcome anytime to participate inside the Exhibition Center to help sorting and packing the donations received.

Please do not forget to register once you enter. YIG would like to keep track of all volunteers. If students need community service hours, please make sure you indicate that upon signing in. If you are younger than 18 years of age, you must have your parents approval to volunteer. YIG and all other organizations involved do not take any liability for damage to vehicles or individuals while volunteering. Please be aware of this disclaimer.

For further information, please join the YIG (Young Initiative Group) Facebook group page for constant updates.

Thank you!

Best Regards,
Zulikha Hussain
Independent Consultant
Interfaith Activist/Youth Activist

Increase awareness + Increase tolerance + enrich ourselves and others. = Peaceful world


Directions to Al-Harithy Exhibition Center

From the City:

Following the signs for the airport or for Madina, leave Jeddah City on Madina Road going north. Prepare to leave Madina Road at the Hera'a Street exit. Pass the Aramex offices on your right and go straight ahead at the traffic lights. Then with the Exhibition Centre on your right, take the first right turn.


From the North:

After passing the airport, leave Madina Road at the Hera'a Street Exit and make a U-turn under the Flyover. With the Exhibition Centre on your right, take the first right turn.



From the East & South:

The roads from the Jizan & the south and Riyadh & the east join the main highway from Makkah and the Jeddah Ring Road. Once on the Ring Road, follow the signs for the airport and Madina. Ignore all signs for the city centre or the port.
Leave the Ring Road following the sign for the South (Saudia) Terminal of the airport, then with the airport on your right, follow the signs for Jeddah City. Do not take the airport terminal slip road.
At the intersection with Madina Road (options for Madina, Corniche or City Centre), follow the City Centre sign to join Madina Road going south. Leave Madina Road at the Hera'a Street exit and make a U-turn under the Flyover.
With the Exhibition Centre on your right, take the first right turn.



To see more photos and read more about the severe flooding that Jeddah experienced this past week:

Arab News "Jeddah Flood, Photo Gallery"

Arab News "Flood Hit Jeddah Still in Shock"

Arab News "Jeddah Flood Death Toll Rises to 11"

There are also many videos posted on YouTube about the Jeddah Flood of 2011.

Jeddah Flooding - January 26, 2011

These are videos from the most recent flooding to occur in Jeddah just today. In November 2009, there was also severe flooding, and the number of casualties was widely believed to be greatly under-reported.

Widespread corruption is to blame. Contracts were not fulfilled, monies were absconded by unscrupulous businessmen, and the people are left to suffer every time it rains in the city of Jeddah.

Luckily I am not in Jeddah right now.

When It Rains, It Pours!

A n unbelievable downpouring of rain showers fell in Jeddah yesterday over a period of several hours, wreaking havoc on this normally very dry city and the surrounding area.

I woke up to dark heavy clouds and the rare sound of ominous thunder. I have never seen it rain here like this in the two years I have lived here. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I had seen it "rain" here before, and I would have called it sprinkles not rain.
Since it rains so rarely here, Jeddah is not equipped to handle the flash flooding that comes with this type of heavy rainfall. There is no where for the water to go so the streets become like raging rivers.

Yesterday I would estimate in some areas that the water was at least three feet deep. Hundreds of vehicles were disabled and stranded and some passengers even required helicopter rescue.
I read this article in the Arab News reporting that at least 24 people died as a result of the flooding, but an updated article places the death toll now at more than 75. I saw children and grown men getting drenched out in the rain and wading into the waters.
Many of the main thoroughfares in Jeddah have curbed center road dividers separating several lanes of traffic, and then another set of curbed dividers for the service access roads. In many areas that I saw, these dividers were totally immersed underwater, creating a dangerous situation for vehicles trying to navigate their way through.
Some hotdog drivers (remember women are not allowed to drive here in Saudi Arabia) were weaving through the high waters at unsafe speeds, trying to create big waves to disrupt other safe-minded drivers who were not so daring, while others lent a helping hand to those who needed it.
Here in Jeddah, it is not unusual to see vehicles driving on the wrong side of divided streets, but yesterday it was even more common as drivers attempted to avoid deeper waters on one side of the street or the other.
Ironically this heavy rainfall coincided with the first day of Hajj, the religious pilgrimage to Makkah where millions of visitors descend upon this area of the world. Most of them enter the country through Jeddah, as Makkah is just a one hour drive away. Aside from some Hajjis being stranded due to the heavy rains, the pilgrims in Makkah surprisingly managed to go about their religious rituals relatively unaffected by the inclement weather.
Businesses experienced loss of sales, schools were closed early, and there were heavy traffic delays and electrical outages. I lived through many hurricane seasons in South Florida, and this episode in Jeddah would rival the amount of rainfall received in that area of the world, just without the high winds.

UPDATE: An Arab News report on November 28th says that as many as 350 people are still unaccounted for and hundreds of others' homes were destroyed by the floods.

The Things We Do For Love

A   few short days ago, I was sitting outside on the deck of my brother's home in America's lovely Pacific Northwest enjoying the cool summer breeze caressing my face. His home has a beautiful view of the shimmering blue waters of Colvos Passage and beyond that sits the lush tree-covered Vashon Island. Several sailboats glided aimlessly before me, across the sparkling expanse of water under the warming sun and the puffy-fluffy clouds. A bald eagle was surveying the landscape from his position on a branch up in a nearby tree, frequenting one of his favorite perches. Flowers in every color of the rainbow seemingly smiled at me from the garden. A family of raccoons, the mother with her four babies, plodded along near the bushes on the side of the grassy plain in the backyard, while two of the house cats intently watched their every move not far from me on the deck. A couple of deer appeared and attempted to nibble off the rosebuds from my sister-in-law's bushes, but she had outsmarted them with a special netting deterrent. Once they realized there were no tasty rosebuds to be devoured, they made their way through the bushes and out of sight. Colorful birds of yellows, blues and reds visited the seed-filled bird feeder situated off to the side of the deck. It was a beautiful, peaceful and perfect day.


As I was digesting all the beauty and tranquility of the nature around me, I couldn't help but think that in a couple of days I would be leaving this little piece of heaven on earth to go back to a place that feels like an oppressive oven and where I have to dress almost completely covered in black from head to toe. To a country where I cannot drive and don't have the freedom to come and go as I please. Where I have no place to enjoy the outdoors because of our living situation and because it's too hot anyway. Into an environment of massive cement buildings, and dust, and pollution. Where my life is boring more often than not, and the restrictions placed on me, as a woman, limit my creativity and my quality of life. Far away from my own family who have repeatedly told me that I am welcome back with them whenever I want. Where my son cannot enjoy himself in doing normal American things like camping, or going to concerts or the movies, and innocently goofing off with the opposite gender.

I had to think to myself that I must be crazy to be leaving this paradise to return to a male dominated and strictly religious society like Saudi Arabia. I just knew I needed to go back though, back to my husband, the love of my life for the last thirty-two years. He warmly greeted us at the airport with a smile on his face that told me how much he had missed my son and me in our absence. We came home to an apartment that was spic and span - and we have no maid like most families here do. A huge basket full of many of my favorite things - like chocolates, perfumes, bubble bath, and cashews - awaited me. And when I told him I wanted to try to lose some weight for my upcoming high school reunion, he said, "No, don't. I like you just the way you are." These are little things, I know, but it's the little things that mean a lot.

Am I miserable living in this desert kingdom? No. Is Saudi Arabia my first choice of where I want to live in this world? No. But for now, this is where I belong, beside my husband, the man I have loved for more than thirty years. The man who stole my heart so many years ago with his goodness and kindness and generosity. Ah, yes, the things we do for love.

In Paradise

I t seems the older I get, the less tolerant of heat I am. And as BAD luck would have it, I have managed to live in one hot place after another all my life. I grew up in the dry heat of Arizona and lived there mostly until I was 40, and suffered through chapped lips, cracked heels, bloody noses, and extremely dry skin. Then we moved to hot and humid South Florida, experiencing several summers when we lost power - meaning no air conditioning - often for weeks during hurricane season. My menopausal hot flashes were always embarrassing, always no fun and lasted for more than ten long years while I lived there. I could take a shower and step outside and in minutes, I felt as though I needed another shower again. My undergarments would always be soaking wet from sweat - yuk! And now I find myself living in one of the hottest places on the planet, Saudi Arabia! It is so hot there that most women simply just do not go outside unless they absolutely have to. Of course having to don a long black cloak over your regular clothes in 116 degree heat, plus having to cover your hair and neck as well, tends to make the women there even hotter - at least it does me!


I feel doomed to live in hot places all my life.

Now everyone has their own idea of what paradise means to them. Many people think of heaven as paradise, but I'm not talking about heaven. Here on earth, my idea of paradise is a place with cooler weather and plentiful rain, lots of green trees and colorful flowers and friendly people, and near a body of water. I arrived in paradise yesterday. I have been here many times to visit family and I always have felt a sense of belonging whenever I come here. I am now in the state of Washington in the Seattle area, and this part of the country is my idea of paradise.

The weather forecast here for the coming week predicts not one day over 76 degrees. The lows will be hovering in the mid-50s. And this is July! I just spent a week in Florida, where the temperatures usually don't reach 100, but guess what? The week I was there, they had record heat, over 100 degrees! It was brutal. And then I was in Arizona for about ten days, and Arizona is nothing BUT hot in the summertime. And of course I had to be there during the monsoon season, which means that the swamp coolers in many Arizona homes (different from air conditioning) don't really function well in the humidity, and it's hard to cool down.

So to arrive here yesterday to a cool 60 degrees - well, it just feels like heaven to me. I love sleeping with the window open and feeling cold enough that I can snuggle under a blanket at night. I love being outside in the summertime and not sweating like a pig. I love this cooler weather!

The photos in this post were all taken at my brother's home in the Seattle area where I am staying. There are wild deer and raccoons that visit the grounds frequently looking for food. The dahlias are among the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. And the view is undeniably spectacular! See why I feel like I am in paradise?