Amman, Jan. 13 (Petra) - Minister of Local Administration Walid Masri said the ministry has identified around 50 hotspots across the Kingdom that are prone to flash floods and rising water levels reaching critical thresholds, based on the results of a comprehensive field survey conducted as part of preparations to deal with weather depressions.
In statements he gave on Tuesday evening, Masri said the ministry classified a number of sites as hotspots requiring close monitoring and intensive intervention during weather lows, including the Tawhid Pond in Russeifa, the town of Al-Iraq in Karak, in addition to areas in the Northern Jordan Valley, Zarqa, Hashemiyah and Madaba. These areas, he said, are subject to close follow-up by operations rooms and field teams.
He noted that the amounts of rainfall recorded during the current weather depression were unexpected and exceeded forecasts, explaining that climate change has contributed to making aging infrastructure unable to absorb the large water flows occurring over short periods.
Masri said infrastructure in a number of governorates faced difficulty in accommodating the rainfall volumes, adding that field efforts by all concerned parties, working in a spirit of teamwork, helped limit damage.
He pointed to a government direction to strengthen the public safety system by establishing an advanced early-warning system covering all regions of the Kingdom, expected to become operational soon, contributing to improved preparedness and early response to risks.
Masri stressed that the ministry is continuing to address infrastructure shortcomings in some areas classified as hotspots, with a focus on technical solutions that help predict risks before they occur.
He said the cost of repairing and rehabilitating infrastructure nationwide could reach around JD100 million, noting that the ministry will begin this year allocating about JD24 million to carry out repair works and address deficiencies across the governorates, of which the government has allocated JD10 million.
He added that the central emergency room at the Ministry of Local Administration has dealt with 151 observations, 135 of which have been addressed, while work is under way on 16, in addition to hundreds of observations being handled by subsidiary emergency rooms across the Kingdom.
//Petra// AF
