Mayor of Amman, Omar Maani, visited yesterday (17/1/2010) the emergency center in Tla’ Al Ali to follow up on the work of the technical cadres and teams of Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) in field during the rainfall.
He also checked the central control unit in which he was briefed on the traffic status in different roads and intersections in the Capital Amman.
During a tour included the Capital’s streets, accompanied by the City Manager of Amman, Ammar Gharaybeh, the Mayor expressed his satisfaction with the performance of GAM cadres in dealing with the prevailing weather conditions and following up the efficiency of rain water drains, as well as handling any complaints raised by the citizens on water gatherings.
He ensured that the rainfall which prevailed in the Capital regions was well managed by the drains.
Maani pointed out that GAM annually implements tens of manholes and drains on vital and main streets, in running streams, and this will be in the benefit of Amman in the future.
The concerned agencies of GAM departments and regions commenced since yesterday (17/1/2010) morning on checking the rain drainage manholes, making sure that they are ready for operation. GAM troupes also checked the entrances and exits of the drainage tunnels, pipes, and streams.
Amman Mayor listened to a technical report covering the last twenty-four hours of the concerned troupes’ work which complied with the emergency status following the published weather forecast. The cadres addressed some simple and minor observations regarding the drainage manholes, in addition to tackling citizens’ complaints in respect to water gatherings near their abodes.
According to the Deputy City Manager for Public Works, engineer Fawzi Mas’ad, GAM troupes have started, as of yesterday (17/1/2010) evening working on restoring traffic lights back to their normal condition, following malfunction resulting from the low altitude weather condition.
Engineer Mas’ad affirmed that the concerned agencies have been placed on highest alert status since yesterday (17/1/2010) evening, to be able to deal with the volatile weather conditions which may occur according to the weather forecast bulletins.
It is worth noting that GAM has declared on Sunday evening a state of emergency owing to the prevailing weather conditions in the Kingdom. Four working shifts have been assigned round the clock to the emergency rooms, Tla’ Al Ali, and Ras Al Ein, in addition to the existing cadres of the various regions directorates.
GAM has called on the citizens living in the buildings below street level to take the necessary precautions by connecting to the sewage systems, referring to the importance of setting up a retraction system on the main line to connect low leveled buildings with the main sewage system, that should prevent water from coming back or leaking as a result of the high pressure in the system which receives rain down pour in such weather conditions.
GAM annually prepares a plan of action to combat the winter weather conditions; the plan adopts measures to promote the effectiveness of its technical and automotive cadres, through modernizing and upgrading the machines (loaders, jets, and flattening equipment).
