Saudi Arabia has very low rain intensity. The climate is dry all year. However, starting from 2009, the country has had some weird flood in Saudi Arabia. This phenomenon is such an abnormal event in the country because history itself never recorded it used to happen in the past.
It is inevitable to prevent the flood because of the habit of people in the country. They have never faced this event before, so it is a bit hard to mitigate fast. Since 2009, they have learned how to minimize the risk based on the causes of the flood. What are the causes of floods that happen in Saudi Arabia?
Causes of Weird Flood in Saudi Arabia
1. Seasonal rainfall
In the past, the rainfall in Saudi Arabia was very low. The intensity is also low, which makes it impossible to create floods in all regions. However, because of heavier rainfall in the last decade, the weird flood occurs mostly in November and December. It is the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere.
Although the precipitation is short, the effect is still large for people who live in this country. The design of the drainage is never made to face this event. The land cannot carry the whole water during intense precipitation. The flood is inevitable in some regions of Saudi Arabia.
2. Drainage issue
Drainage capacity in Saudi Arabia is very low because of their natural character. The soil is full of rock and sand which are not good to drain heavy precipitation. Because of this poor characteristic, the country is not ready to face climate change that causes the weird flood in their regions.
This issue leads the water to find the way out by flowing on the surface, not getting absorbed to the soil. This issue likely occurs in many urban areas because their soil is covered by heavy construction as well. It creates the worst flood in the last five years.
3. Topography
The topography of areas like Jeddah, which gets weird floods often, is low-lying. The position of this city is near the coastlines. The water accumulates in this area because of precipitation which makes the flood hard to avoid when the precipitation is intense.
4. Geography
The flash flood also occurs in some regions because of geographical characteristics. Saudi Arabia has mountain ranges in Medina and Asir. Since they have a higher land mass, the water flows to the valley. This area suffers a lot during the winter months in Saudi Arabia.
5. Climate change
Climate change is another cause of weird flood in Saudi Arabia. Because of it, the country has suffered unpredictable precipitation in the last decade. The government hardly decides when they should issue some warnings regarding this event because the pattern is not easy to predict.
Besides the precipitation, Saudi Arabia also experiences other extreme weather conditions such as storms. When the storm comes, it also brings heavy rainfall. The bigger one might affect severe floods in certain regions. This is such a challenge for the local authorities.
6. Urbanization
Rapid urbanization is also the cause of the weird flood, especially in Riyadh and Jeddah. These two cities have quick growth because of tourism and more people are coming to earn some money. They need more housing so they have no choice but to open more areas to create this space.
The infrastructure of urbanization in these cities is barely considered water drainage because of the pattern of the past. However, climate change creates unpredictable events that lead these cities to suffer from weird flood in Saudi Arabia.
7. Human activity
Blaming human activity does make sense in this country. Some construction is poor considering the risk of flooding. Heavy precipitation does not have a way out because the soil cannot absorb it due to the construction. This leads to flooding, especially in the urban area.
Drainage system in Saudi is also poor because of some blockings. This comes from urban debris, poor maintenance of construction and certain areas, and the accumulation of sand. It creates a worse flood because the government should be capable of fixing it as soon as the event occurs.
The government should prepare mitigation for weird flood in Saudi Arabia. Through a proper early warning system, such as an SMS broadcaster device, people can get messages about the next action to take when the flood is coming. Therefore, they can manage the risk and loss by themselves.
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