Natural Disaster

This report discusses the impact of natural disasters, specifically floods, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and proposes an emergency operation plan to counteract the severe flooding and its catastrophic impacts. The aim of the plan is to lead evacuation and rescue of the people of Jeddah and other cities of Saudi Arabia in the events of future flash floods. The report also discusses the participation roles, resources required, and communication and dissemination of information regarding natural disasters.

Running head: NATURAL DISASTER
Natural Disaster
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Introduction:
Emergency and health disasters can happen when least anticipated and cause heavy
losses. Flooding is one such natural emergency which take place in port cities due to their
proximity to seas and big rivers. Most of the port cities around the world are commercial hubs of
national and international importance housing innumerable businesses, thus generating
employment of a huge population. Some of the port cities besides being of commercial
importance, are of religious and cultural significance being gateways to important religious
places. Thus, floods in such cities, especially during important religious festivals, result in death
and spread of epidemics. The deaths and epidemics worsen due to immense population of people
both locals and foreigners who visit the port cities to travel to the main pilgrim centers. One such
pilgrim center is Jeddah, the commercial capital of Saudi Arabia and the largest port situated on
the Red Sea. The city being the commercial capital of Saudi Arabia and an important sea port
supports a huge population of over 3 million as per Census 2010 (Stats.gov.sa, 2019). The city is
the international gateway to Makkah and Medina, the two pilgrim centers Islam holds holy. The
population of the city soars due the Haji pilgrimage which commences in November owing to
residents and tourists, national as well as international. The city was lashed by torrential rainfall
of 70 centimeters on November 25, 2009, just two days prior to the pilgrimage began. The
flooding led to caving of the Haramain Expressway stranding thousands of pilgrims and collapse
of the Jamiah Bridge escalating the suffering of the pilgrims. The floods swept away thousands
of vehicles and even killed caught in those cars. The flood killed at least 77 people and caused
business losses worth billions of dollars. Similar floods hit Jeddah in 2011, 2015 and 2017. The
Khaleej Times reports that the floods of 2017 was responsible for 250 accidents due to short
circuits, deaths due to electrocution and travelers being washed away after being ‘plucked’ from

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their respective vehicles by the devastating flood water (Khaleejtimes.com. (2019). Thus, it is
evident from the discussion that natural disasters create acute medical emergency cases like
electrocution, slipping, traffic accidents and drowning. The aim of the report would be
development of an emergency operation plan to create disaster preparedness to counteract the
severe flooding and its catastrophic impacts which Saudi Arabia faces.
Scope and purpose:
The scope of emergency operational plan would be lead evacuation and rescue of the
people of Jeddah and other cities of Saudi Arabia in the events of future flash floods. The
purpose of the emergency plan would be ensuring rescue of all many people during floods. The
flood rescue plan would consider people having mobility problems like aged, children, sick and
people with special abilities. The aim of the plan would be securing people, pets and the basic
necessities of life away from flood stricken areas to minimize any further death and diseases due
to floods.
Participation roles:
The emergency operation plan to rescue flood victims in events of future flooding would
require participation of certain people capable of providing leadership in emergency situations.
The emergency operation plan should follow the directions laid down by the Government of
Saudi Arabia (Saudi.gov.sa. (2019). The people in the regions susceptible to flooding must
appoint a group of emergency personnel who would be responsible for communication of the
imminent flooding to the people living in the regions. The next positions would be that of
emergency managers who would be responsible for helping people to move to safer places. The
people living in flood prone regions like Jeddah should undergo extensive training regarding
organizing of flood rescue operations. The people living within specific localities should in

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addition be trained to operate specific equipment like fire extinguishers and even rowing rescue
boats. The local government bodies should train the residents to manage flood conditions.
Resources required:
Effective emergency management operations require several resources in terms of funds,
human resources, knowledge and materials. The Governments of Saudi has a well laid down
disaster management plan. The government also provides guidance to the citizens about dealing
with disasters. The resources required to prepare the emergency plan would be food, bottles of
clean water, medicines and basic legal documents. The resources of also consists of torches,
batteries, candles and radio sets. The residents of particular areas should keep themselves adrift
with the latest weather updates and should take initiatives to inform others on gaining
information about an imminent flood. The members of the emergency rescue team in specific
areas within cities should attend emergency rescue training sessions to enhance their efficiency.
The people in the cities on receiving information about an approaching flood situation, should
first move their valuable properties to higher levels to save them from flood water to the feasible
extent. They should relocate the pets, children and disabled people to safer locations. The people
should use the flood kit containing the resources mentioned above to sustain till aid arrives.
Communication and dissemination:
The communication and dissemination of information regarding natural disasters on time
play significant roles in ensuring minimizing damage caused due to floods. The meteorological
department should communicate the information about any approaching natural disaster. The
government at all the three levels namely central, state and at local levels should communicate
the information about a probable calamity. The area specific area personnel should disseminate

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the information among the local community members. This would enable the residents make
stronger arrangements sustain through the flood.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded from the discussion that natural calamities like floods are extremely
devastating. The floods lead to death of hundreds of people, leaving even more people sick and
injured. Floods also cause loss to businesses and public properties. However, it can be pointed
out that management of calamities require strategy formation by the central government and
compliance by the state governments as well as local governments. The local government should
train local people to manage these emergency situations.

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References:
Khaleejtimes.com. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/video-floods-paralyse-saudi-city-of-
jeddah-three-killed-
Saudi.gov.sa. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.saudi.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/pages/search/!ut/p/z1/lZFbc4IwEIV_Sx94rFmU
i_YNtWNxLLamVsyLw2UHmYGEQoDx3zfYmXboaC95y-75zp5NCCM-
YTxo0iSQqeBBpu57Zh1Wuuk8zBawgq1hguNZU53aL0NYD8muLxjTxRgce-
6OJq_6CAAI-
xe_1q2p4k3j2Zw8Kt74nWd9yYUEfcGFEWcBXDkOkL0KaV9NMbPJrkmxJbRzequxP
NE6SbDq3vCeB2GG8WGDPMZSOSlJJeoywpngErn0RIyf3Z937dBIFOh-s-
tqX5UlYUkmwo_PO0pZ3GmgQdu2gzTMB5HINciErCsNKgzK6EhYJqIgQ-
Ij_zNy3pL4c5c6VKqxRb71IX3Kl41nNt4tC0_tzTugAyKs/?urile=wcm:path%3A
%2FMCIT_en%2Fe-services-temp%2F10403
stats.gov.sa. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.stats.gov.sa/

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Appendix:
Appendix 1: Population of Jeddah (Jiddah)