VZCZCXRO3936
RR RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0488/01 3571103
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231103Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1668
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8647
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0201
RUEADWD/SECARMY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 JEDDAH 000488 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, CA/OCS/ACS-NEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2019 
TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC ECON KPAO PGOV SA SENV
SUBJECT: JEDDAH FLOOD AFTERMATH: CLEANING UP THE CITY AMID 
CALLS TO CLEAN OUT THE GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: A. A. JEDDAH 465 
     ¶B. B. JEDDAH 456 
     ¶C. C. JEDDAH 457 
     ¶D. D. JEDDAH 460 
 
JEDDAH 00000488  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Jeddah officials report 121 dead and 39 
missing in the November 25 flash flood that devastated the 
eastern part of the city, although the public believes the 
actual toll is much higher and one contact accused the SAG of 
suppressing the true figures.  Most of the city now appears 
unscathed and even the hardest hit areas look much better 
than two weeks ago.  Government officials and private 
volunteers continue searching for victims, cleaning 
flood-damaged areas, and aiding survivors.  There have been 
some complaints of inadequate Government help -- especially 
for non-Saudis.  Some government departments claimed they are 
assisting all flood victims, including foreigners, without 
prejudice, while a high-level civil defense official told the 
press that illegal expatriates will not receive compensation 
and will be deported if caught. Some illnesses (including 10 
cases of dengue fever) have been reported, but the government 
is working to avoid epidemics, checking water supplies for 
contamination and spraying insecticide to kill mosquitoes. 
 
¶2.  (C) To prevent future catastrophes, the government is 
identifying buildings on flood plains and has banned 
(re)construction on these natural water pathways.  The 
municipality has reinforced and lowered the water level of a 
sewage containment area that threatened to overflow and flood 
Jeddah with raw sewage, although the city still lacks 
adequate waste treatment facilities and drainage systems. 
Most Jeddawis are blaming the catastrophe on government 
mismanagement and corruption, and some opponents of the Al 
Saud have capitalized on the flood to call for political 
reforms.  The government has so far handled the crisis to 
avoid empowering its opponents -- offering generous 
compensation to Saudi victims, privately investigating the 
causes of the flood, and setting up a hotline to report 
corruption -- while prohibiting mosques from criticizing 
authorities.  End summary. 
 
 
RUMORS SWIRL OF UNCOUNTED VICTIMS 
 
 
¶3. (C) Three weeks after flash floods struck Jeddah, the 
official death toll stands at 121 and the number of missing 
has dropped to 39.  Jeddawis have speculated the actual death 
toll is much higher because of uncounted deaths, such as 
unconfirmed reports that 20 doctors and nurses were killed at 
King Abdulaziz University hospital, and perhaps 40 to 100 
victims were trapped in a large hole into which cars were 
swept by raging waters.  Rumors have also circulated of 
thousands drowned at a supposed underground prison 
(originally said to be in the Quwaizah area, now said to be 
near the Old Airport) perhaps belonging to the intelligence 
services (mubahith) and holding suspected Al Qaeda 
sympathizers.  Former Arab News reporter Hassan Hatrash 
(protect) charged the published casualty figures have been 
underestimated because of government suppression of the 
press.  Hatrash said he spoke with a friend in the civil 
defense force the day after the flood and heard the death 
toll was already up to 1,400 but the civil defense officer 
claimed the government had suppressed that number.  Jeddah 
Governor Prince Mishal bin Majed has instructed all hospitals 
in the city to report any flood-related deaths and bodies 
released for burial before official recording of deaths 
began.  The Civil Defense has asked families of missing 
people to undergo DNA testing to help identify the deceased. 
 
 
 
MOST OF THE CITY RECOVERED 
 
 
¶4. (U) Eleven search teams including dogs and divers continue 
to look for victims, rescuing one survivor who had been 
trapped beneath debris of a collapsed building and recovering 
 
JEDDAH 00000488  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
several more bodies.  The municipal government has focused on 
pumping water from the streets and cleaning up the city, and 
most areas now appear unscathed.  Harder-hit districts still 
show signs of destruction but look much better than a week 
ago, when mud coated the first floors of buildings and 
fly-covered piles of debris and mud-covered furniture lined 
the roads.  Most of the smashed cars and trash piles had been 
cleared despite a lack of dumpsters; the manager of the 
Jeddah Department of Sanitation told reporters that 5,000 
dumpsters were lost in the flood and replacing them would 
take time.  King Abdulaziz University, which was badly 
damaged in the flood, has partially reopened, although its 
president told Al-Madina that the disaster has taken the 
university "back to square one." 
 
 
SOME ILLNESSES, NO EPIDEMICS 
 
 
¶5. (U) The government has also worked to prevent the outbreak 
of epidemic diseases.  Although residents of the 
flood-ravaged areas have reported cases of flu, fever, 
diarrhea, and skin problems, no massive public health issues 
have emerged.  The director of Health Affairs in Jeddah told 
the press that the municipality has deployed mobile medical 
teams and clinics to flood-hit areas and refugee centers and 
has distributed leaflets on possible health risks to flood 
survivors.  The city has also hired specialist teams to 
monitor environmental hazards such as contamination of water 
storage tanks in these areas; so far samples of desalinated 
water have tested negative for all epidemic diseases.  As 
part of the municipality's plan to prevent the outbreak of 
water-borne illnesses, employees have sprayed pesticides on 
the stagnant pools of muddy water that are breeding grounds 
for mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, although as of 
December 19, ten new cases of dengue fever have been reported. 
 
 
GENEROUS AID -- EXCEPT TO ILLEGAL EXPATS -- AND SOME 
PROFITEERING 
 
 
¶6. (U) The Ministry of Social Affairs, according to Al-Madina 
Arabic daily, will provide SR 20 million ($5.3 million) to 
Jeddah charities that are aiding thousands of flood victims 
daily.  Evacuated families are being housed in temporary 
shelters, hotels, and furnished apartments normally used by 
Haj pilgrims, with payment guaranteed by the Ministry of 
Finance.  Thousands of volunteers, most young people, have 
volunteered their time to assist flood victims, from 
distributing food to providing free counseling services for 
traumatized survivors.  Donations have poured in from the 
private sector (90 percent from individuals, 10 percent from 
companies, according to one published estimate) -- although 
some victims have complained that the food delivered by 
volunteers had passed its expiration date and was not fit for 
consumption.  Other survivors told the nongovernmental 
National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and reporters that 
they had not received any aid. 
 
¶7. (U) The director of the NSHR's Makkah branch reportedly 
told the civil defense officials the group is concerned about 
"the disparity between Saudi citizens and foreigners in the 
domain of accommodation and sustenance," but added that the 
director general of the Civil Defense, General Saad 
Al-Tuwaijri, assured NSHR the government is providing 
accommodation to all flood victims without prejudice, as 
directed by King Abdullah.  On December 19, the Director of 
Civil Defense in Makkah Region, General Adel Al-Zamzami, told 
Saudi Gazette that "illegal expatriates are not included in 
the flood compensation" and "will not have any rights.  If we 
catch them we will transfer them immediately to the Passports 
Department to deport them." 
 
¶8. (SBU) To ensure donations reach victims, Makkah Governor 
Prince Khalid Al-Faisal recently ordered the opening of a 
special account under the Governorate's supervision to 
collect donations for flood survivors.  Originally the public 
was warned to give only to licensed, officially recognized 
organizations, such Al Bir Society, a well-respected charity 
for orphans.  (Note: The Governor's action followed an Al 
 
JEDDAH 00000488  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
Arabiya report alleging the director of Al Bir -- former 
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Chairman 
Sheikh Saleh Al Turki -- had transferred SR 1 billion ($267 
million) from the charity to his company's account.  Al Bir's 
treasurer and current JCCI Deputy Chairman Mazen Batterjee 
refuted the allegation, saying the fund transfer was actually 
an investment made four years ago that was approved by the 
Ministry of Social Affairs, which oversees the charity. End 
note.)  Other reports have surfaced of individuals attempting 
to profit from the tragedy, with landlords hiking rents and 
some filing fraudulent claims for compensation.  The SAG has 
promised the family of each flood victim SR 1 million 
($267,000). One well-heeled Jeddawi woman, joking about the 
situation to her husband, cracked, "Dear, let's go drown our 
dog so we can apply for compensation and buy a more expensive 
pedigree breed." 
 
 
(RE)BUILDING ON FLOOD PLAIN BANNED 
 
 
¶9. (U) The national Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs 
has directed all municipalities across the Kingdom to survey 
their jurisdictions to determine if any residential areas are 
located on wadis (dry riverbeds), where rain water 
concentrates, causing flash floods.  Some experts have called 
for the government to halt construction in these low-level 
areas and water pathways to avoid a repeat of last month's 
floods.  According to Okaz, the Encroachment Committee of the 
Jeddah Mayor's office has banned repairs and reconstruction 
of flood-damaged buildings on flash flood routes in order to 
restore natural water routes to the sea.  Jeddah authorities 
began issuing permits for residential construction in these 
natural rainwater pathways in 1974, according to Al-Hayat. 
Some construction engineers have publicly predicted that in 
the future Jeddah will expand in the north, rather than to 
the south or east, because of geographical features that 
invite flooding in those areas. 
 
 
PREVENTING A FLOOD OF SEWAGE 
 
 
¶10. (U) To prevent a 17-kilometer wide sewage containment 
area (known as Misk Lake) from overflowing and inundating the 
city with sewage, government officials have implemented a 
variety of measures.  The municipality has constructed a 
series of dams so that if one dam is breached the others will 
hold and protect the city from flooding.  It has also 
constructed a pipeline above ground from Misk Lake to a 
floodwater channel inside the city to carry sewage should the 
lake's embankments collapse.  Other steps have decreased the 
lake's water level from 14 to nine feet.  Some effluent was 
released from Misk Lake, although city officials denied 
earlier reports that untreated waste was dumped directly into 
the sea.  Tankers that traditionally dumped sewage directly 
into Misk Lake have been diverted to another area, although 
drivers have publicly complained that the site is inadequate 
and nearby residents pelted the delivery trucks with rocks. 
With an estimated 2,000 sewage trucks seeking new dumping 
grounds for the contents of tens of thousands of individual 
building septic systems, reports have surfaced of illicit 
sewage dumping. 
 
¶11. (SBU) City officials have said the municipality wants to 
empty Misk Lake within a year, but in the absence of new 
sewage treatment plants the available options are very 
limited.  Among the ideas being discussed are discharging the 
waste into the Red Sea (which would further damage the coral 
reefs near Jeddah) and treating the waste and using the 
processed water to restore the local aquifer, which some fear 
would contaminate the groundwater.  The city plans to build 
pipelines to connect Misk Lake to the Kouraimah treatment 
plant in the south, which is already overloaded according to 
press reports.  Perhaps to reassure a public skeptical of 
local capabilities and to respond to calls for international 
advice, the local government has sought the help of foreign 
experts; photos of the international team surveying Misk Lake 
were prominently featured in local newspapers. 
 
 
 
JEDDAH 00000488  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
CALLS FOR POLITICAL CHANGES 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) While the government carries out these corrective 
and preventative measures, the fact-finding committee formed 
by King Abdullah continues its investigation into the reasons 
for the unprecedented devastation (12,000 properties and 
11,000 cars damaged and more than 25,000 people displaced) 
caused by the five inches of rainfall.  Although a handful of 
bloggers have attributed the catastrophe to God's punishment 
for sins, most Jeddawis blame the tragedy on government 
mismanagement and corruption.  Well before the flood, Jeddah 
contacts on the Municipal Council told us that money 
appropriated for a city-wide drainage system years ago had 
been pocketed by a high-level official.  Saudi officials 
appear willing to acknowledge corruption is a problem -- up 
to a point.  The Ministry of Interior has set up a special 
hotline for the public to report corruption, and the Shoura 
Council is reportedly seeking the establishment of an 
Anti-Corruption Commission.  But the Ministry of Islamic 
Affairs has cautioned those delivering Friday mosque sermons 
to focus on "consoling bereaved families" and avoid 
"addressing the Mayor's office or any other authority." 
 
COMMENT: RATIONALE FOR REFORM 
 
¶13. (C) Comment. Some Saudi citizens are citing the flood as 
a rationale for political reform.  In a statement released to 
the media, the unrecognized Riyadh-based Saudi Civil and 
Political Rights Association, formed in October 2009, 
attributed the Jeddah flood disaster to corruption by royal 
family members who "occupy top government positions and 
compete to rob public funds and accumulate illegitimate 
wealth."  The group demanded limits on the role of princes 
and the right to elect representatives to a "national 
assembly which can watch, monitor and evaluate the services 
of all government agencies."  The government is unlikely to 
allow elements hostile to the ruling family to capitalize on 
the tragedy.  The SAG is handling the flood in a way that 
does not empower its opponents: forming a government 
commission headed by two princes to investigate the causes of 
the devastation and report to the king privately, offering 
generous compensation to Saudi victims, and taking measured 
steps to address citizens' concerns about corruption.  End 
comment. 
 
POSTSCRIPT: MORE RAIN OVERNIGHT ... 
 
¶14. (U) Postscript: The rains struck again overnight, 
December 22-23, dropping an additional 10 mm. on the 
beleagured residents of Jeddah.  There was some flooding, 
worst in the south of the city, but nowhere as extensive as 
on November 25 when 90-140 mm. fell over the area during a 
period of six hours. Tuesday afternoon, King Abdulaziz 
University and local schools sent students home early, having 
received an accurate weather forecast warning of more rain. 
Today's Saudi papers carried photos of cars plowing through 
water up to their headlights as "flood panic" once again 
threatened to grip Jeddawis. City officials moved quickly to 
reassure the public. The overnight rain proved to be the 
result of thunderstorms normal at this time of year along the 
Red Sea. End postscript. 
QUINN