Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Saudi king orders prosecutions in Jeddah flood disaster

Terra Daily via Agence France-Presse: Saudi King Abdullah on Monday called for the prosecution of an unstated number of officials and businessmen after a flood in Jeddah last year killed at least 123 people and sparked a rare outburst of public anger. Abdullah said in a royal order that justice ministry prosecutors should take action on cases of alleged corruption and malfeasance in managing city construction and land which may have exacerbated the November 25 disaster.

…It came a month after Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the governor of the Mecca region which includes Jeddah, presented the king with the results of preliminary investigations into the flood. Thousands of families were left homeless by the inundation of the Red Sea coast city of more than three million after heavy rains in the mountains to the east sent water gushing down into the coastal plain. More than 10,785 buildings were wrecked and 10,850 vehicles destroyed, according to official statistics….

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