Madaba, Jan. 20 (Petra) -- Madaba Mayor Haitham Juwainat said the governorate's Public Safety Committee decided to evacuate a building after subsidence in the floor of one of its commercial storage units revealed a deep, water-filled cavity beneath the structure.

Juwainat told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the committee took rapid measures, evacuating residents, closing the main road in front of the building, and pumping out water from beneath it.

He said the evacuation decision followed the urgent dispatch of a technical committee from the National Building Council to safeguard lives pending an assessment of the building's structural safety and that of adjacent structures.

He added that the Royal Scientific Society will conduct technical tests to determine whether the building remains fit for habitation.

//Petra// AO