Cabinet discusses floods damage in Capital, provinces
The Council of Ministers held on Tuesday an extraordinary meeting to discuss the damage of the torrential rains falling nowadays in the Capital Sana’a and other provinces.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Abdul Aziz Bin Habtoor, focused on the damage of the rain floods including landslides and rock collapses, and car accidents taken place in the provinces of Mahweet, Hajjah and Ibb.
The meeting dealt with the mechanism of providing appropriate assistance to the affected people, especially those who left their houses because they were completely destroyed or partially damaged.
The council listened to a report from Deputy Prime Minister for Services and Development Affairs, Chairman of the Higher Committee for Disaster and Flood Damage Dr. Hussein Maqboli on the committee’s activities and the findings of its field visits to the affected provinces.
The report pointed to the plan prepared by the committee to strengthen the capacities of the local authorities in the capital Sana’a and the targeted provinces, especially cleaning the flood drainage.
Capital Sana’a Mayor Hamoud Ubad said that there are new projects currently being implemented and others whose tenders are being analyzed, aiming to reduce flood damage to residential neighborhoods, roads and tunnels.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Roads Eng. Mohammed al-Dhari stressed the importance of preparing a comprehensive study to address the effects of torrential rains on the citizens and their property.
The project to protect the city of Taiz from flood damage can be considered a successful model that can be used in the capital, Sana’a, and the provinces, he said.
The Council of Ministers agreed to pay financial aid (YR1 million – YR 2 million) to the families that have affected by the floods and landslides and assign the governors in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works and Roads to prepare a study for constructing new houses instead of the ones that were completely destroyed.