Mulki chairs meeting to prepare for winter weather

AMMAN — Crises that result from weather conditions should be dealt with by examining whether institutional shortcomings or negligence contributed to the situation, Prime Minister Hani Mulki said on Sunday.

Chairing a meeting of the Higher Civil Defence Council at the Interior Ministry, Mulki said that those responsible for any negligence must be held accountable, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The meeting was held to ensure all agencies and institutions are ready to deal with weather conditions and emergencies as winter approaches. 

The premier stressed the importance of the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management and the need to benefit from its expertise in dealing with crises. 

Such meetings are necessary to ensure the safety of residents and their properties, he added.

Mulki praised the Civil Defence Department (CDD), the Public Security Department and the Gendarmerie Department for their efforts in dealing with heavy rain in Aqaba last week, adding that he has requested a report on the situation from the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to check if the floods were exacerbated by shortcomings or infrastructure failures.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Salameh Hammad said discussions at the meeting touched on several issues to improve the readiness of the concerned agencies and institutions.

Hammad called on ministries and agencies to implement their own plans to mitigate the impact of the expected weather conditions during winter, noting the need to learn from the problems of previous years such as roads blockages and blackouts.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said the Greater Amman Municipality has prepared its own plan over the last four months, which focuses on equipment, vehicles and drivers, noting that the municipality has checked and prepared the infrastructure, including tunnels and water pumps.

CDD Director General Lt. Gen. Talal Kofahi stressed the readiness of his department’s personnel and equipment, calling on residents to take news from credible sources and to avoid exaggeration.

Secretaries general of several ministries and chairmen of the Jordan chambers of commerce and industry gave briefings on their institutions’ plans.   

The CDD has some 183 centres across the Kingdom all equipped with vehicles and machinery such as armoured vehicles for emergency transfers and delivering supplies as well as water pumps with a capacity of 2,500 to 5,000 litres per minute.

Through a Royal benefaction (makruma) from His Majesty King Abdullah, the CDD has received several 12-seater ambulances, 496 regular ambulances and 13 armoured vehicles equipped with first aid kits.